UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


BUILDERS  OF  THE  NATION 

OR 
From  the  Indian  Trail  to  the  Railroad 


National  Edition 
Complete  in  Twelve  Volumes 


v  ^"    2 

I'MES  VSAi 


I  1 


'A   .1-.   r\ 


eorge  A 


STRAYED 


<§tt*itrr* 

I' row  ,///  original  fainting  by  A.   A'     \\'au,f. 


NATIONAL  EDITION 

COMPLETE  IN  TWELVE  VOLUMES 

f     e:=^r  .   •— M-,    ,-af8^  -  ,, 

guildens/'l'Nation 

THE  SOLDIER 
ii 

By 

Brig.  Gen'l.  George  A.  Forsyth 

U.  S.  A.    (Retired) 


ILLUSTRATED 
— -  "=• 

NEW  TORK 

THEBg&MPTONSoCIETY 

W 


c-  THE 

•TVEBs-rv  ; 


Copyright,  1900 
By  D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY 

Copyright,  1908 
By  THE  BRAMPTON  SOCIETY 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PACK 

IX.— THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868  AND  1869     .        .  199 

X. — A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF 

1868  AND  1869 233 

XL— THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69 

AND  THE   PUNISHMENT   OF  THE  PlEGANS            .           .  249 

XII. — ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE 261 

XIII. — THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON      ....  286 
XIV.— THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876    .        .        .        .308 

XV. — THE  CLOSE   OF  THE   Sioux  CAMPAIGN  AND  THE 

NEZ  PERCES'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT          .       .        .  830 

XVI. — THE    ARMY    OFFICER,    THE    PEOPLE,   AND   THE 

SOLDIER 363 

INDEX  .                                                                   ,  379 


Soldier.  II. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


OUSTER'S  LAST  FIGHT FRONTISPIECE 

From  the  Original  Painting  by  A.  R.  W&nd 

PAGE 

THE  ATTACK  ON  BLACK  KETTLE'S  CAMP         .       .       .243 

ARRIVAL  OF  TERRY'S  COLUMN  ON  THE  OUSTER  BATTLE 
FIELD  327 

SURRENDER  OF  AMERICAN  HORSE  .    339 


Soldier.  II. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF    1868   AND    1869. 

So  many  criticisms  have  been  passed  on  the  army's 
Indian  campaigns  on  the  Western  plains  since  the 
civil  war  by  really  good  and  philanthropic  people,  un 
fortunately  with  no  adequate  knowledge  of  the  facts 
that  brought  it  about,  that  it  may  be  well  to  give  my 
readers  a  few  extracts  from  the  official  reports  of  two 
of  our  best-known  generals  to  disabuse  their  minds  of 
the  idea  that  the  army  incited  them,  but  before  I  do  so 
I  wish  to  quote  for  their  benefit  the  opinion  of  these 
Indians  by  the  late  Colonel  Richard  I.  Dodge,  who  was 
by  far  the  ablest  writer  and  best-informed  man  in  re 
gard  to  their  mode  of  life,  habits,  and  character  who 
has  lived  in  recent  times.  He  spent  the  best  portion 
of  his  life  on  the  great  plains,  frequently  living  among 
them,  for  he  was  a  mighty  hunter  and  loved  wild  life, 
and  he  made  these  people  a  painstaking  study.  He  has 
written  of  their  good  and  bad  qualities  without  a  shadow 
of  partiality,  and  ever  and  always  with  a  desire  to  do 
them  justice,  and  he  sums  up  tersely  and  accurately 
the  reason  why  an  Indian  develops  into  what  he  actual 
ly  becomes  in  the  following  words: 

"Eastern  people,  .  .  .  misled  by  the  traveller's 
tales  of  enthusiastic  missionaries  or  the  more  inter- 

199 


200  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

cstod  statements  of  [Indian]  agents  and  professional 
humanitarians,  and  indulging  in  a  philanthropy  safe 
because  distant  and  sincere  because  ignorant,  are  ready 
to  believe  all  impossible  good  and  nothing  bad  of  the 
noble  savage,  .  .  .  while  the  Western  man  who  has 
lost  his  horses,  had  his  house  burned,  or  his  wife  vio 
lated  or  murdered  finds  a  whole  lifetime  of  hatred 
and  revenge  too  little  to  devote  to  his  side  of  the 
question. 

"  The  conception  of  Indian  character  is  almost  im 
possible  to  a  man  who  has  passed  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life  surrounded  by  the  influences  of  a  cultivated, 
refined,  and  moral  society.  .  .  .  The  truth  is  simply 
too  shocking,  and  the  revolted  mind  takes  refuge  in  dis 
belief  as  the  less  painful  horn  of  the  dilemma.  As  a 
first  step  toward  an  understanding  of  his  character  we 
must  get  at  his  standpoint  of  morality.  As  a  child  he 
is  not  brought  up.  .  .  .  From  the  dawn  of  intelligence 
his  own  will  is  his  law.  There  is  no  right  and  no  wrong 
to  him.  ...  No  dread  of  punishment  restrains  him 
from  any  act  that  boyish  fun  or  fury  may  prompt.  No 
lessons  inculcating  the  beauty  and  sure  reward  of  good 
ness  or  the  hideousness  and  certain  pnishment  of  vice 
are  ever  wasted  on  him.  The  men  by  whom  he  is  sur 
rounded,  and  to  whom  he  looks  as  models  for  his  future 
life,  are  great  and  renowned  just  in  proportion  to  their 
ferocity,  to  the  scalps  they  have  taken,  or  the  thefts 
they  have  committed.  His  earliest  boyish  memory  is 
probably  a  dance  of  rejoicing  over  the  scalps  of  stran 
gers,  all  of  whom  he  is  taught  to  regard  as  enemies.  The 
lessons  of  his  mother  awaken  only  a  desire  to  take  his 
place  as  soon  as  possible  in  fight  and  foray.  The  in 
struction  of  his  father  is  only  such  as  is  calculated  to 
fit  him  best  to  act  a  prominent  part  in  the  chase,  in 
theft,  and  in  murder.  .  .  .  Virtue,  morality,  generosity, 
honour,  are  words  not  only  absolutely  without  signifi- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  201 

cance  to  him,  but  are  not  accurately  translatable  into 
any  Indian  language  on  the  plains."  * 

That  people  of  this  peculiar  training  should  break 
treaties  at  will  was  only  to  be  expected,  especially 
when  they  deemed  themselves  the  stronger  party,  as 
they  certainly  did  after  the  abandonment  by  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  posts  of  Forts  Phil  Kearny,  Reno,  and 
C.  F.  Smith  at  their  imperative  demand.  The  Indian 
accedes  to  a  demand  only  from  one  consideration — fear. 
Nothing  else  will  move  him;  and  the  fact  that  we  had 
given  up  these  posts  on  their  threat  of  war  at  once  set 
tled  the  question  in  their  minds  of  the  strength  of  the 
relative  forces.  The  condition  of  affairs  on  the  border 
that  grew  out  of  this  act  upon  the  part  of  the  Govern 
ment  is  perhaps  best  shown  in  the  following  extracts 
from  the  annual  reports  of  Generals  Sherman  and 
Sheridan  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  1868: 

"REPORT   OF   LIEUTENANT-GENERAL 
W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

"  HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 

"  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  November  1,  1868. 

"  GENEKAL:  The  military  division  of  the  Missouri  is 
still  composed  of  the  departments  of  Missouri,  Platte, 
and  Dakota,  embracing  substantially  the  country  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in 
cluding  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Montana. 

"  These  departments  are  commanded  by  Generals 
Sheridan,  Augur,  and  Terry. 

"  You  will  observe  that  while  the  country  generally 
has  been  at  peace,  the  people  on  the  plains  and  the 
troops  of  my  command  have  been  constantly  at  war,  en- 

*  The  Plains  of  the  Great  West,  by  Richard  Irving  Dodge. 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  Pages  255-257. 


202  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

during  all  its  dangers  and  hardships,  with  none  of  its 
honours  or  rewards. 

"  It  has  always  been  most  difficult  to  discover  the 
exact  truth  concerning  the  cause  of  a  rupture  with  any 
Indians.  They  never  give  notice  beforehand  of  a  war 
like  intention,  and  the  first  notice  comes  after  their 
rifles  and  lances  have  done  much  bloody  work.  All 
intercourse  then  necessarily  ceases,  and  the  original 
cause  soon  becomes  buried  in  after  events.  The  pres 
ent  Indian  war  in  General  Sheridan's  department  is  no 
exception,  and,  as  near  as  I  can  gather  it,  the  truth  is 
about  this: 

"  Last  year,  in  the  several  councils  held  at  North 
Platte  and  Fort  Laramie  by  the  peace  commission  with 
fragmentary  bands  of  Sioux,  the  Indians  asserted  that 
they  were  then,  and  had  been  always,  anxious  to  live  at 
peace  with  their  white  neighbours,  provided  we  kept 
faith  with  them.  They  claimed  that  the  building  of 
the  Powder  Kiver  road,  and  the  establishment  of  mili 
tary  posts  along  it,  drove  away  the  game  from  the  only 
hunting  grounds  they  had  left  after  our  occupation  of 
Montana  and  Nebraska;  that  this  road  had  been  built 
in  the  face  of  their  protest  and  in  violation  of  some  old 
treaty  which  guaranteed  them  that  country  forever. 
That  road  and  the  posts  along  it  had  been  constructed 
in  1865  and  1866,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Mon 
tana,  but  had  almost  ceased  to  be  of  any  practical  use 
to  them  by  reason  of  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  whose  terminus  west  of  the  Black  Hills  made 
it  easier  for  the  wagons  to  travel  by  an  older  and  better 
road  west  of  the  mountains. 

"  For  this  reason,  and  because  the  farther  extension 
of  this  railroad,  under  rapid  progress,  would  each  year 
make  the  Powder  River  road  less  and  less  used,  the  com 
mission  yielded  to  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  Sioux, 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  203 

and  recommended  the  abandonment  for  the  time  of 
this  road.  On  the  second  day  of  last  March,  General 
Grant  gave  the  necessary  orders  for  breaking  up  the 
posts  Forts  Reno,  Phil  Kearny,  and  C.  F.  Smith;  but 
it  was  well  toward  August  before  the  stores  and  mate 
rial  could  all  be  hauled  away.  As  we  had  reason  to 
apprehend,  some  of  the  Sioux,  attributing  our  action 
to  fear,  followed  up  our  withdrawal  by  raids  to  the  line 
of  the  Pacific  road,  and  to  the  south  of  it  into  Colo 
rado.  Others  of  them  doubtless  reached  the  camps  of 
the  Arapahoes  on  Beaver  Creek  and  the  Cheyenne 
camps  on  Pawnee  Fork,  near  Fort  Lamed,  and  told 
them  what  had  occurred,  and  made  them  believe  that 
by  war,  or  threats  of  war,  they  too  could  compel  us  to 
abandon  the  Smoky  Hill  line,  which  passes  through  the 
very  heart  of  the  buffalo  region,  the  best  hunting 
grounds  of  America. 

66  About  this  time — viz.,  August  3d  or  4th — a  party 
of  Indians,  composed  of  two  hundred  Cheyennes,  four 
Arapahoes,  and  twenty  Sioux,  are  known  to  have  start 
ed  from  their  camp  on  Pawnee  Fork  on  a  war  expedi 
tion,  nominally  to  fight  the  Pawnees.  On  the  10th  they 
appeared  on  the  Saline  north  of  Fort  Barker,  where  the 
settlers  received  them  kindly;  they  were  given  food  and 
coffee,  but,  pretending  to  be  offended  because  it  was  in 
'  tin  cups/  they  threw  it  back  in  the  faces  of  the  women 
and  began  at  once  to  break  up  furniture  and  set  fire  to 
the  houses.  They  seized  the  women  and  ravished  them, 
perpetrating  atrocities  which  could  only  have  been  the 
result  of  premeditated  crime.  Here  they  killed  two 
men.  Thence  they  crossed  over  to  the  settlements  on 
the  Solomon,  where  they  continued  to  destroy  houses 
and  property,  to  ravish  all  females,  and  killed  thirteen 
men.  Going  on  to  the  Republican,  they  killed  two 
more  men  and  committed  other  acts  of  similar  brutal 
atrocity.  As  soon  as  intelligence  of  this  could  be  car- 


204  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ricd  to  Fort  Harker  troops  were  sent  in  pursuit,  who 
succeeded  in  driving  them  away,  rescuing  some  captive 
children,  and  killing  but  few  Indians,  by  reason  of  their 
fast  ponies  and  familiarity  with  the  country. 

"  I  recite  these  facts  with  some  precision,  because 
they  are  proved  beyond  dispute,  and  up  to  the  very  1110- 
ment  of  their  departure  from  Pawnee  Fork  no  Indian 
alleges  any  but  the  kindest  treatment  on  the  part  of 
the  agents  of  the  General  Government,  of  our  soldiers, 
or  of  the  frontier  people. 


"  On  the  4th  of  September  Governor  Hunt  tele 
graphed  me  from  Denver:  '  Just  returned.  Fearful  con 
dition  of  things  here.  Nine  persons  murdered  by  Indi 
ans  yesterday  within  a  radius  of  sixty  miles/  etc.  And 
on  the  24th  of  September,  Acting-Governor  Hall  again 
telegraphed  from  Denver:  '  The  Indians  have  again  at 
tacked  our  settlements  in  strong  force,  obtaining  pos 
session  of  the  country  to  within  twelve  miles  of  Denver. 
They  are  more  bold,  fierce,  and  desperate  in  their  as 
saults  than  ever  before.  It  is  impossible  to  drive  them 
out  and  protect  the  families  at  the  same  time,  for  they 
are  better  armed,  mounted,  disciplined,  and  better  offi 
cered  than  our  men.  Each  hour  brings  intelligence  of 
fresh  barbarities,  and  more  extensive  robberies/  etc. 

"  On  the  4th  of  September  Governor  Crawford,  of 
Kansas,  telegraphed  from  Topeka:  '  Have  just  received 
a  despatch  from  Hays,  stating  that  Indians  attacked, 
captured,  and  burned  a  train  at  Pawnee  Fork,  killed, 
scalped,  and  burned  sixteen  men;  also  attacked  another 
train  at  Cimarron  crossing,  which  was  defended  until 
ammunition  was  exhausted,  when  the  men  abandoned 
the  train,  saving  what  stock  they  could.  Similar  at 
tacks  are  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  These  things  must 
cease.  I  can  not  disregard  constant  and  persistent  ap- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  205 

peals  for  help.  I  can  not  sit  idly  by  and  see  our  people 
butchered,  but  as  a  last  resort  will  be  obliged  to  call 
upon  the  State  forces  to  take  the  field  and  end  these 
outrages/ 

•  4  4  •  •  •  • 

"All  this  time  General  Sheridan  in  person  was 
labouring  with  every  soldier  of  his  command  to  give  all 
possible  protection  to  the  scattered  people  in  that  wide 
range  of  country  from  Kansas  to  Colorado  and  New 
Mexico.  But  the  very  necessity  of  guarding  interests  so 
widely  scattered  made  it  impossible  to  spare  enough 
troops  to  go  in  search  of  the  Indians  in  their  remote 
camps. 

•  **•*•» 

"  This  double  process  of  peace  within  their  reser 
vations  and  war  without  must  soon  bring  this  matter  to 
a  conclusion. 

"  With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 
"W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

"Lieutenant  General. 
"  Brevet  Major-General  E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Washington,  D.  C" 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 
"  IN  THE  FIELD,  FORT  HAYS,  September  36, 18G8. 

"  GENERAL:  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  September  17, 
1868,  asking  for  a  report  of  the  facts  touching  the  be 
ginning  of  the  present  Indian  troubles,  I  have  the  hon 
our  to  respectfully  submit  the  following: 

"Early  in  the  spring,  after  assuming  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  I  visited  the  line  of 
military  posts  on  the  Arkansas.  About  Fort  Dodge, 
Kansas,  I  found  many  Indians  there  encamped,  em 
bracing  Kiowas,  Comanches,  Arapahoes,  and  Chey- 
ennes.  They  asked  me  to  have  an  interview  with  them, 


206  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

which  I  declined,  stating  to  them  that  I  was  simply 
visiting  the  military  posts  to  learn  their  condition  and 
that  of  the  soldiers,  and  that  I  was  not  authorized  to 
talk  with  them. 

"  From  all  I  could  learn  at  Dodge  there  appeared 
to  be  outspoken  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  all  these 
Indians  to  removing  to  the  reservations  assigned  to 
them  by  the  treaty  of  Medicine  Lodge  Creek  of  the 
previous  fall.  I  learned  from  officers  and  others  that 
all  the  tribes  considered  the  treaty  of  no  importance, 
save  to  get  the  annuities  promised  them  in  it,  and  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  move  to  their  reservations. 

"  The  manner  of  the  Indians,  so  far  as  I  saw,  was 
insolent  and  overbearing,  and  so  manifest  as  to  cause 
me  to  take  all  the  precautions  in  my  power  to  protect 
railroad  and  other  lines  of  travel  in  the  district  of  the 
upper  Arkansas. 

"  The  difficulty  of  maintaining  peace  for  the  sum 
mer  was  then  so  apparent,  and  my  desire  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  so  great,  that  I  thought  I  would  en 
gage  three  good  men  familiar  with  Indian  language 
and  well  known  in  the  tribes,  so  that  any  misunder 
standing  or  accidental  circumstance  might  be  explained 
at  once  and  under  my  own  immediate  directions.  In 
carrying  out  this  intention  I  employed  Mr.  William 
Comstock,  Mr.  Grover,  and  Mr.  Parr,  giving  to  Corn- 
stock  and  Grover  all  Indians  west  of  Wallace  and  on 
the  head  waters  of  Walnut  and  Pawnee  Creeks,  and  to 
Mr.  Parr  all  Indians  on  the  Solomon  and  Saline,  placing 
in  charge  of  these  scouts  Lieutenant  F.  H.  Beecher, 
Third  Infantry,  a  very  intelligent  and  trustworthy  offi 
cer,  with  directions  to  communicate  to  me  every  week, 
or  oftener,  and  to  use  every  effort  to  maintain  peace. 
Much  good  was  accomplished  by  Beecher  and  his  three 
men,  who  travelled  constantly  and  kept  me  well  posted 
on  the  location  of  the  Indians  and  their  movements. 


THE  SIOtTX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  207 

Lieutenant  Beecher  and  these  scouts  were  under  my 
own  especial  orders. 

"  Matters  went  on  pretty  well  until  the  arrival  of 
the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  at  Fort  Lamed,  about  the 
4th  of  July,  except  occasionally  trains  would  be  stopped 
on  the  roads,  and  coffee,  sugar,  and  food  demanded  and 
obtained  before  they  were  allowed  to  go  on.  Previous 
to  their  arrival  the  most  threatening  reports  reached 
me  of  their  intentions. 


"  On  the  3d  or  4th  of  August  a  party  of  about  two 
hundred  Cheyennes,  four  Arapahoes,  and  twenty 
Siouxs,  then  visiting  the  Cheyennes,  organized  and  left 
their  camps  on  Pawnee  Creek  and  proceeded  first  to  the 
Saline  Valley,  north  of  Fort  Harker.  They  were  kindly 
received  by  two  farmers  living  in  the  advanced  settle 
ments,  and  given  coffee,  etc.  After  throwing  the  coffee 
in  the  faces  of  the  women  serving  it  to  them,  because 
it  was  given  to  them  in  tin  cups,  they  then  commenced 
the  robbery  of  the  houses,  and  violated  the  women  until 
they  were  insensible  from  brutal  treatment.  This  was 
on  the  10th  of  August.  They  then  crossed  to  the  set 
tlements  on  the  Solomon,  approaching  them  on  the 
12th,  where  they  were  again  kindly  received  and  served 
with  coffee;  after  which  they  commenced  robbing  the 
house,  taking  the  stock,  ravishing  the  women,  and  mur 
dering  thirteen  men.  Two  of  the  women  outraged  were 
also  shot  and  badly  wounded.  A  small  party  then 
crossed  to  the  Republican  and  killed  two  persons  there; 
but  the  main  party  returned  to  the  Saline,  carrying  with 
them  as  captives  two  children  named  Bell.  After  arriv 
ing  at  the  Saline  they  commenced  attacking  the  set 
tlers,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  cleaning  out  the 
whole  valley;  but  while  Mr.  Schermerhorn  was  defend 
ing  his  house,  Colonel  Benteen  with  his  company  of 


208  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  Seventh  Cavalry,  which  had  marched  swiftly  from 
Zarah,  arrived,  and,  hearing  the  firing,  went  to  the  relief 
of  the  house  which  was  being  attacked,  and  ran  the 
Indians  about  ten  miles.  Lieutenant  Beecher,  who  was 
with  his  scouts  on  Walnut  Creek,  hearing  there  was 
trouble  on  the  Solomon  and  Saline,  but  without  know 
ing  its  nature,  despatched  Comstock  and  Grover  to  the 
camp  of  Turkey  Leg,  on  the  Solomon,  to  be  ready  to 
explain  in  case  the  white  people  were  at  fault.  They 
were  ordered  out  of  Turkey  Leg  camp,  and  were  fol 
lowed  by  a  party  of  seven  Indians,  professing  friend 
ship;  and  while  conversing  with  them  were  both  shot 
in  the  back — Comstock  killed  instantly  and  Grover  bad 
ly  wounded;  but  by  lying  on  the  ground,  making  a  de 
fence  of  Comstock's  body,  he  kept  the  Indians  off  and 
made  his  escape  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  From 
this  time  out,  and  almost  before  information  could  be 
communicated  by  Indian  runners,  people  were  killed 
and  scalped  from  the  Cimarron  River,  south  of  the 
Arkansas,  to  the  Republican,  and  from  the  settlements 
on  the  Solomon  and  Saline  west  to  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains;  stock  run  off,  trains  burned,  and  those  accom 
panying  them  in  some  cases  thrown  into  the  flames  and 
consumed.  The  most  horrible  barbarities  were  perpe 
trated  on  the  dead  bodies  of  these  victims  of  savage 
ferocity. 

"  There  was  no  provocation  on  the  part  of  the  white 
people  during  the  whole  summer,  although  some  of 
them  had  to  abandon  their  ranches.  Friendly  issues 
were  made  at  the  military  posts  to  the  Indians  visiting 
them,  and  large  issues  made  by  the  Indian  Department 
of  rations  and  goods. 


"  I  respectfully  append  a  list  of  casualties  and  dep 
redations  reported  to  me  from  the  10th  of  August  to 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'G9.  209 

the  17th  of  September.  This  report  does  not  cover  all 
the  murders  or  the  amount  of  damage  done.  The  total 
number  murdered  on  this  list  is  sixty-four. 

"I  am,  general,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"Major  General,  U.  S.  A. 
"  Lieutenant-General  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

"  Commanding  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 
"A  true  copy: 

"  J.  SCHUYLER  CROSBY, 
"  Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel,  A.  D.  C.,  A.  A.  A.  0." 

The  moment  it  became  evident  that  war  with  the 
Indians  could  be  no  longer  avoided,  General  Sheridan, 
who  was  then  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Mis 
souri,  with  his  headquarters  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan 
sas,  at  once  took  the  field  in  person.  I  was  at  that  time 
a  major  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  United  States  cav 
alry  and  serving  upon  his  staff  as  an  acting  inspector 
general,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  accompanied  my 
chief  to  the  field.  He  had  an  unusually  able  and  com 
petent  staff,  and  I  felt  that  I  could  be  easily  spared 
and,  under  the  circumstances,  render  more  efficient 
service  if  placed  directly  in  command  of  troops;  still  I 
could  not  see  how  I  could  be  given  a  command,  as  I 
was  junior  to  most  of  the  field  officers  then  serving  in 
the  department.  However,  I  finally  ventured  to  state 
my  wishes  to  the  general.  He  said  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  give  me  a  command  that  was  commensurate 
with  my  rank  if  he  had  the  troops,  but  that  as  things 
were  it  was  impossible  to  justly  do  so;  still  there  was 
a  way  in  which  I  might  have  an  independent  command 


210  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  case  I  was  willing  to  waive  rank.    I  gladly  accepted 
his  offer,  and  it  resulted  in  the  following  order: 

"HEADQUARTERS    DEPARTMENT   OF   THE   MISSOURI, 

"  FORT  HARKER,  August  24,  1868. 

"Brevet  Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth,  A.  A.  Inspector  General, 
Department  of  the  Missouri  : 

"  COLONEL:  The  general  commanding  directs  that 
you,  without  delay,  employ  fifty  first-class  hardy  fron 
tiersmen  to  be  used  as  scouts  against  the  hostile  Indi 
ans,  to  be  commanded  by  yourself,  with  Lieutenant 
Beecher,  Third  Infantry,  as  your  subordinate.  You  can 
enter  into  such  articles  of  agreement  with  these  men  as 
will  compel  obedience. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  (Signed)  J.  SCHUYLER  CROSBY, 

"A.  D.  C.  and  A.  A.  Adjutant  General." 

As  there  was  no  legal  authority  to  enlist  scouts  as 
a  part  of  the  regular  army  nor  as  volunteers,  I  was  given 
authority  to  enrol  my  company  as  quartermaster's 
employees,  agreeing  to  pay  them  a  stipulated  sum  per 
day  While  so  employed.  They  were,  however,  to  mount 
themselves,  but  the  Government  was  to  allow  them 
thirty  cents  a  day  for  the  use  of  their  horses,  and  in 
case  the  horses  were  worn  out  or  killed  in  service  they 
were  to  receive  full  value  for  them.  Arms,  horse  equip 
ments,  and  rations  were  furnished  by  the  Government. 
The  military  organization  was  that  of  a  troop  of  cav 
alry.  Five  days  from  the  time  I  received  the  order  I 
had  enrolled  the  fifty  men  called  for,  and  in  compli 
ance  with  instruction  contained  in  the  following  note 
we  took  the  field: 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  211 

"  FORT  HAYS,  KANSAS,  August  29, 1868. 

"  Brevet  Colonel  Oeorge  A.  Forsyth,  Commanding  Detachment 
of  Scouts  : 

"  I  would  suggest  that  you  move  across  the  head 
waters  of  Solomon  (Kiver)  to  Beaver  Creek,  thence  down 
that  creek  to  Fort  Wallace.     On  arrival  at  Wallace 
report  to  me  by  telegraph  at  this  place. 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"Major  General." 

Our  equipment  was  simple:  A  blanket  apiece,  saddle 
and  bridle,  a  lariat  and  picket  pin,  a  canteen,  a  haver 
sack,  butcher  knife,  tin  plate,  tin  cup,  a  Spencer 
repeating  rifle  (carrying  six  shots  in  the  magazine  be 
sides  the  one  in  the  barrel),  a  Colt's  revolver  (army 
size),  and  a  hundred  and  forty  rounds  of  rifle  and  thirty 
rounds  of  revolver  ammunition  per  man — this  carried 
on  the  person.  In  addition,  we  had  a  pack  train  of  four 
mules,  carrying  camp  kettles  and  picks  and  shovels,  in 
case  it  became  necessary  to  dig  for  water,  together  with 
four  thousand  extra  rounds  of  ammunition,,  some  medi 
cal  supplies,  and  extra  rations  of  salt  and  coffee.  Each 
man,  officers  included,  carried  seven  days'  cooked  ra 
tions  in  his  haversack. 

This  troop  of  scouts  was  in  many  respects  a  most 
remarkable  one.  Lieutenant  Frederick  H.  Beecher,  my 
subordinate,  was  a  man  of  marked  ability,  a  son  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  and  a  nephew  of  the 
Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  had  a  fine  war 
record,  and  was  lame  for  life  from  the  effect  of  a  bullet 
received  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Cool,  quiet,  self- 
possessed,  and  of  undaunted  bravery,  he  had  in  him 
all  the  elements  of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman.  Dr. 


212  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

J.  IT.  Mooers,  my  acting  assistant  surgeon,  had  been  a 
major  and  surgeon  in  one  of  the  New  York  volunteer 
regiments  during  the  civil  war.  My  acting  post  ser 
geant  was  William  H.H.McCall,  who  had  commanded  a 
Pennsylvania  regiment  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  and 
was  brevetted  a  brigadier  general  for  his  splendid  han 
dling  of  his  troops  when  General  J.  B.  Gordon,  of  the 
Confederate  army,  attacked  and  carried  Fort  Stedman 
one  spring  morning  in  1865  during  the  siege  of  Peters 
burg.  My  guide,  Sharpe  Grover,  was  one  of  the  ablest 
plainsmen  of  his  day,  a  man  about  forty  years  of  age, 
and  has  already  been  mentioned  in  General  Sheridan's 
report,  quoted  above. 

The  soldiers  as  a  class  were  wonderfully  good  men; 
many  of  them  had  been  soldiers  in  either  the  regu 
lar,  volunteer,  or  Confederate  service,  and  their  in 
dividual  histories,  drifting  as  they  had  to  the  fron 
tier  after  our  civil  war,  must  have  been  worth  hear 
ing  and  recording.  They  were  of  many  different  occu 
pations,  trades,  and  professions,  and  among  them  were 
farmers,  drovers,  teachers,  lawyers,  mechanics,,  and  mer 
chants,  with,  as  I  have  said  before,  a  large  percentage 
of  old  soldiers,  and  with  one  or  two  exceptions  they 
were  accustomed  to  the  use  of  firearms  and  good  aver 
age  marksmen,,  some  few  of  them  being  exceedingly 
good  shots,  although  in  those  days  rifle  practice  in 
or  out  of  the  army  was  not  by  any  comparative  degree 
equal  to  the  proficiency  since  attained. 

Following  out  the  line  indicated  in  the  instructions 
of  the  commanding  general,  I  moved  straight  for  the 
Saline  River,  crossed  it  and  the  south  fork  of  the  Solo 
mon  River,  and  reached  Beaver  Creek  at  its  junction 
with  Short  Nose  Creek.  Here  there  had  evidently  been 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1868-'69.  213 

a  very  large  camp  of  Indians,  and  there  were  all  the  in 
dications  of  their  haling  held  a  great  sun  dance  at  this 
place,  probably  just  before  or  after  they  had  decided  to 
go  upon  the  war  path.  I  scouted  up  this  creek  beyond 
timber  line,  but  did  not  find  any  fresh  trails,  so  I  moved 
directly  across  country  to  Fort  Wallace,  arriving  there 
on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  September.  I  found  here  a 
despatch  from  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
urging  me  to  go  to  the  protection  of  the  exposed  settlers 
near  Bison  Basin.  I  should  have  done  so  had  not  word 
reached  me  at  daylight  the  next  morning  from  the  town 
of  Sheridan,  then  located  at  the  end  of  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railroad,  thirteen  miles  distant,  that  a  freight 
er's  train  had  been  attacked  by  Indians  near  there  on 
the  preceding  evening  and  two  teamsters  killed,  al 
though  the  Indians  had  been  driven  off  by  the  other 
teamsters,  who,  fortunately,  were  well  armed. 

Leaving  two  of  my  men  sick  in  hospital  at  Fort  Wal 
lace,  I  moved  immediately  to  the  scene  of  the  attack. 
It  had  evidently  been  made  by  a  war  party,  probably  not 
more  than  twenty  strong.  We  followed  the  trail  until 
nightfall,  camped  on  it,  and  resumed  the  march  at  day 
light.  By  nine  o'clock  it  had  disappeared.  The  In 
dians  had  scattered,  with,  in  all  probability,  an  agree 
ment  to  meet  at  a  given  point  many  miles  distant. 

After  a  brief  consultation  with  Lieutenant  Beecher, 
my  chief  scout  Grover,  and  McCall,  I  decided  to  circle 
until  we  could  pick  up  the  trail  somewhere  and  follow  it 
to  its  junction  with  the  main  body  of  Indians  to  which  it 
belonged.  Circling  out  and  steadily  seeking  for  the  trail, 
with  a  general  trend  toward  Short  Nose  Creek,  in  which 
direction  I  expected  to  find  the  Indians,  on  the  fifth  day 

out  frtfm  Fort  Wallace  we  reached  the  north  bank  of 
15 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  Republican  River.  As  one  of  my  scouts  urged  his 
horse  to  water  through  the  willow  copse  on  its  bank 
he  stumbled  upon  a  recently  abandoned  wicki-up — a 
temporary  shelter  made  by  the  Indians  interlacing  the 
overhanging  boughs  of  bushes  and  covering  the  top 
with  leaves  and  grass.  Two  dismounted  Indians  had 
occupied  it,  probably  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours. 

We  took  up  their  trail  at  once,  and  soon  ran  upon  a 
very  recently  abandoned  camp  of  three  mounted  Indi 
ans,  and,  following  their  trail,  it  led  us  to  a  trail  made 
by  a  war  party  of  at  least  twenty  mounted  Indians.  We 
followed  this  to  the  forks  of  the  Republican  River.  It 
soon  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  stream,  and  smaller 
trails  from  both  north  and  south  constantly  entered  it, 
until  at  length  it  became  almost  a  beaten  road  along 
which  it  was  plainly  evident  several  large  Indian  vil 
lages  had  recently  gone  with  all  their  belongings  in 
the  shape  of  ponies  loaded  with  lodge  poles,  which,  drag 
ging  along  on  the  ground,  had  worn  deep  ruts  in  the 
soil,  together  with  droves  of  horses  and  ponies  and  pack 
mules,  some  of  them  partially  shod,  with  indications  of 
many  dogs  in  the  column,  which  was  strong  confirma 
tion  that  the  Indians  were  moving  their  families  to  a 
permanent  camp  well  out  of  harm's  way. 

About  this  time  some  of  my  men  grew  apprehensive, 
and  a  sort  of  committee  came  to  me  and  entered  a  pro 
test  upon  our  further  advance  into  the  Indian  country. 
I  told  them  that  we  were  out  to  find  and  fight  Indians, 
and  that  I  was  taking  all  the  risks  that  they  were;  that 
some  of  these  Indians  upon  whose  trail  we  were  now 
moving  were  part  of  the  same  band  that  had  harried  the 
border  along  the  Solomon  River  and  massacred  the 
ranchmen  and  their  families.  It  was  expected  that  we 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  215 

would  hunt  these  people  down,  and  furthermore  it  was, 
in  my  opinion,  less  dangerous  to  go  on  now  and  attack 
them  than  it  would  be  to  turn  back.  At  any  rate,  I 
meant  to  fight  them,  and  I  did  not  believe  that  they 
could  annihilate  us  even  if  we  were  not  strong  enough  to 
whip  them.  The  men  quietly  fell  back,  and  as,  fortu 
nately,  there  were  many  old  soldiers  in  the  command, 
nothing  more  was  said  regarding  the  matter. 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  not  seen  an  Indian,  al 
though  I  was  well  satisfied  that  they  were  watching 
us.  Each  hour  that  we  advanced  the  trail  grew  hotter, 
and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  villages  were  not 
far  distant.  We  were  about  out  of  rations,  although  we 
had  plenty  of  salt  and  coffee,  but  large  game  had  not 
been  seen  within  twenty-four  hours,  good  evidence  that 
it  had  been  lately  hunted  away.  At  about  four  o'clock 
or  a  little  later  on  the  afternoon  of  September  16th  I 
decided  to  go  into  camp  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Re 
publican  River  at  a  point  where  the  grazing  was  fairly 
good. 

We  were  in  a  little  swale  or  valley  about  two  miles 
long  and  of  nearly  the  same  width.  On  our  side  (the 
south  side  of  the  stream)  it  sloped  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  lying  out  about  midway  in  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  say  sixty  yards  away  from  the  bank,  was  a 
small  island,  perhaps  sixty  or  seventy  yards  in  length 
and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  in  width,  covered 
with  a  low  growth  of  bushes  with  a  single  small  tree 
that  shot  up  among  the  bushes  about  the  middle  of 
the  island.  It  formed  a  pretty  break  in  the  landscape, 
as  the  water  rippled  around  the  gravelly  head  of  the 
island  and  flowed  along  its  sides  at  an  average  width 
of  five  or  six  yards,  but  of  no  great  depth,  probably 


216  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

not  exceeding  a  foot  in  any  place.  The  river  beds 
of  all  these  Western  mountain  streams  are  wide,  and 
in  the  months  of  May  and  June  they  run  bank  full, 
sweeping  majestically  along,  but  in  the  late  summer 
and  fall  they  dwindle  at  times  to  the  merest  thread  of 
running  water.  After  grazing  our  animals  until  dark, 
we  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  just  opposite 
the  little  island.  Every  possible  precaution  was  taken 
against  surprise;  the  horses  were  both  hobbled  as  well 
as  carefully  picketed  out,  and  instructions  were  given 
that  in  case  of  attack  each  man  should  grasp  his  horse's 
lariat  and  stand  with  rifle  in  hand  awaiting  orders.  A 
strong  guard  was  posted,  and,  although  it  was  an  unusu 
ally  cold  night  for  the  season  of  the  year,  most  of  the 
men  slept  well  and  soundly.  Naturally  anxious,  1  was 
up  and  paced  the  rounds  with  the  guard  more  than 
once. 

Just  at  the  first  flash  of  dawn,  as  I  was  standing 
near  the  outermost  sentry,  we  heard  the  thud  of  unshod 
horses'  feet,  and  a  few  seconds  later  between  us  and 
the  sky  line  we  caught  sight  of  the  waving  feathers  in 
the  war  bonnet  of  a  mounted  warrior  just  moving  over 
the  crest  of  a  rise  in  the  ground  a  little  way  above  us 
on  the  bank  of  the  stream.  As  we  raised  our  guns  to 
our  shoulders,  even  before  we  could  fire,  we  saw  him 
joined  by  several  others.  The  sharp  crack  of  our  rifles 
caused  the  men  to  spring  to  their  feet  and  instinctively 
grasp  their  horses'  lariats  almost  before  our  shout  of 
"  Indians!  Turn  out;  Indians!  "  could  reach  their  star 
tled  ears.  Running  backward  toward  the  camp,  only 
two  hundred  feet  away,  and  keeping  my  eyes  fixed  on 
the  small  war  party,  I  saw  at  once  that  their  intention 
was  to  stampede  our  horses,  for  they  dashed  forward 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  217 

on  their  ponies,  rattling  dried  hides,  beating  Indian 
drums,  and  yelling  at  the  top  of  their  lungs.  It  was 
too  late  for  that,  however,  as  nearly  every  man  already 
had  his  horse's  lariat  wrapped  around  his  left  arm  and 
his  rifle  grasped  in  both  hands.  A  few  shots  sent  them 
whirling  back,  even  quicker  than  they  came,  and  the 
attempted  surprise  was  a  failure.  "  Saddle  up  and  stand 
to  horse!  "  was  the  order,  and  the  men  sprang  to  work 
with  an  energy  born  of  the  peril  that  confronted  them. 
Almost  as  quickly  as  I  can  pen  the  words  the  command 
was  equipped,  bridled  and  saddled,  and  standing  to 
horse  in  line,  each  man  with  his  bridle  thrown  over 
his  left  arm,  with  his  loaded  rifle  in  his  hands,  coolly 
awaiting  orders. 

It  was  light  enough  to  begin  to  dimly  discern  ob 
jects  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  when  my 
chief  scout  Grover  placed  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
and  said:  "0  heavens,  general,  look  at  the  Indians!" 
Cadmus-like  they  appeared  to  spring  full  armed  from 
the  very  earth.  From  up  and  down  the  sandy  bed 
of  the  river,  from  across  the  stream  and  along  the 
opposite  bank,  from  the  rising  ground  back  of  us,  and 
above  and  below  us  on  our  side  of  the  river  they 
seemed  to  suddenly  start  into  view,  and  then,  even 
as  we  looked,  shouting  their  war  cries,  beating  their 
drums,  and  exultantly  chanting  their  death  song  they 
began  to  press  toward  us,  both  on  foot  and  on  horseback, 
firing  at  us  with  their  rifles  as  they  came  steadily  on. 
The  moment,  however,  that  they  were  well  within  rifle 
shot  a  few  sharp  volleys  from  the  scouts  were  sent  in 
among  them,  staggering  their  advance  for  the  nonce, 
and  causing  them  to  hastily  fall  back  out  of  range. 

There  was  but  one  course  for  us  to  take,  as  we  were 


218  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

surrounded  and  greatly  outnumbered:  I  ordered  my  men 
to  lead  their  horses  to  the  little  island  lying  out  in  the 
river  bed  in  our  immediate  front,  to  tie  them  in  a  cir 
cle  to  the  bushes  growing  there,  and  to  cover  themselves 
by  each  digging  a  rifle  pit,  and  then,  if  we  could  not 
beat  off  our  foe,  we  could  at  least  sell  our  lives  dearly. 
Placing  our  extra  boxes  of  ammunition,  now  very  pre 
cious,  on  four  of  the  saddles,  we  moved  on  foot  with  a 
solid  front  across  the  bed  of  the  stream  to  the  little 
island  opposite  us,  tied  our  horses  to  the  bushes  in  a 
circle,  and  then  dropping  quickly  to  the  ground  and 
partially  sheltered  by  their  horses,  two  men  working 
together,  with  their  butcher's  knives  and  tin  plates,  the 
whole  command  began  rapidly  to  cover  itself  by  a 
series  of  detached  rifle  pits,  all  facing  outward.  As  we 
made  this  move  some  of  our  best  shots  kept  up  a  fire 
from  our  flanks,  and  three  of  our  best  men  remained 
temporarily  in  the  long  grass  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
to  protect  the  north  end  of  the  island.  The  enemy 
had,  I  think  purposely,  left  the  way  down  the  river 
open,  but  I  realized  at  once  that  the  little  gorge  through 
which  we  had  debouched  into  the  valley  the  preceding 
day  would  be  lined  with  warriors  awaiting  any  attempt 
to  escape  that  way. 

Our  movement  to  the  island  was  unexpected,  and 
for  a  few  moments  seemed  to  puzzle  them,  but  as  soon 
as  they  began  to  comprehend  what  it  meant  they  were 
wild  with  rage.  Their  mounted  warriors  dashed  up 
and  down  and  urged  the  dismounted  riflemen  to  close 
in  on  us  at  once,  many  of  them  springing  from  their 
horses  and  coming  on  with  them  to  the  banks  of  the 
stream,  and  for  a  few  moments  they  poured  in  a 
heavy  fire  upon  us,  killing  and  wounding  several  of 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  219 

the  men.  By  this  time,  however,  our  men  were  al 
ready  partially  covered  by  their  little  rifle  pits,  while 
the  poor  horses,  who  were  being  shot  down  in  all 
directions,  and  who  tugged  and  strained  in  vain  at 
their  lariats,  gave  us  an  additional  protection,  and  the 
small  bushes  and  long  grass  helped  conceal  from  the 
enemy  exactly  where  our  men  lay. 

Just  at  this  crisis  one  of  the  men,  who  had  lost 
his  head,  shouted:  "Don't  let's  stay  here  and  be  shot 
down  like  dogs!  Will  any  one  try  for  the  opposite 
bank  with  me?"  "I  will,"  said  some  one  in  reply. 
Standing  in  the  midst  of  the  circle,  revolver  in  hand, 
I  told  them  I  would  shoot  down  the  first  man  who 
attempted  to  leave  the  island,  in  which  I  was  quickly 
backed  by  McCall.  "  It's  our  only  chance,  men,  to 
stay  where  we  are,"  said  I.  Lieutenant  Beecher,  who 
was  aiming  as  carefully  and  firing  as  steadily  as  if 
at  target  practice,  suddenly  called  out,  "  You  addle- 
headed  fools,  have  you  no  sense  ?  "  and  so  the  crisis 
passed,  for  had  an  attempt  then  been  made  to  leave  the 
island  no  white  man  would  have  lived  to  record  the 
fight. 

For  the  next  twenty  minutes  my  sole  command  con 
sisted  in  urging  the  men  to  aim  carefully,  fire  low,  and 
not  to  fire  until  they  could  see  something  to  hit;  and  on 
no  account  to  waste  their  ammunition,  as  our  safety 
might  depend  upon  how  carefully  we  managed  to  hus 
band  it.  And  now  discipline  began  to  tell,  as  it  always 
does  in  the  end.  The  enemy  was  getting  the  worst  of 
it.  He  was  losing  men,  while,  being  fairly  well  covered, 
we  were  suffering  comparatively  little.  I  still  stood  up 
right,  walking  from  man  to  man,  but  from  every  side 
I  was  asked  to  lie  down.  Scarcely  had  I  done  so  when 


220  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

I  received  a  bullet  in  the  fore  part  of  my  right  thigh, 
ranging  upward.  It  remained  imbedded  in  the  flesh 
and  gave  me  more  intense  pain  than  much  more 
serious  wounds  I  had  previously  received,  and  for  a 
moment  or  two  I  could  scarcely  speak,  so  great  was  the 
agony.  Dr.  Mooers,  who  was  doing  yeoman  work  with 
his  rifle,  now  suggested  that  as  I  was  the  only  man  not 
covered  with  a  rifle  pit  that  his  pit  be  enlarged  to  cover 
both  of  us.  A  couple  of  men  went  at  once  to  his  assist 
ance,  but  while  they  were  energetically  working  at  it  I 
incautiously  threw  up  my  left  leg  as  I  leaned  over  to 
give  an  order  to  one  of  the  men,  and  a  bullet  smashed 
the  bone  midway  between  the  ankle  and  the  knee. 
Three  minutes  later  I  was  pulled  down  into  the  pit 
and  was  safely  under  cover. 

Riding  around,  just  outside  of  rifle  range  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river,  were  several  hundred 
mounted  warriors,  evidently  under  command  of  a  gi 
gantic  chief,  who  seemed  exasperated  almost  to  frenzy 
at  the  blunder  the  Indians  had  made  in  allowing  us 
to  occupy  the  island  we  were  now  intrenched  upon. 
A  second  look,  and  I  concluded  whom  it  must  be, 
so  I  called  out  to  G rover,  "  Is  not  the  large  chief 
Roman  Nose?"  "None  other,"  was  the  reply;  "there 
is  not  such  another  Indian  on  the  plains."  "  Then 
these  are  the  Northern  Cheyennes?"  "Yes,  and 
the  Ogallalla  and  Brule  Sioux  and  the  Dog  soldiers. 
There  are  more  than  a  thousand  warriors  here."  I 
doubted  this,  and  told  Grover  so,  but  in  a  muttered 
reply  he  held  to  his  estimate.  I  could  not  bring  myself 
to  believe  that  there  were  so  many;  in  fact,  I  did  not 
wish  to  believe  it,  as  it  discouraged  the  men,  but  after 
ward  I  knew  that  he  was  nearly  right.  About  this 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69. 

time  my  surgeon,  Dr.  Mooers,  was  hit  by  a  rifle  bullet 
in  the  forehead,  and  never  spoke  but  one  rational 
word,  although  he  lived  for  nearly  three  days  after 
receiving  the  wound.  A  few  moments  later,  while 
glancing  over  the  side  of  my  rifle  pit,  I  received  a  scalp 
wound,  but  my  felt  hat  being  doubled  down  broke  the 
force  of  the  bullet,  and  it  glanced  off,  but  left  me  with 
a  splitting  headache,  and  although  the  scalp  was  scarce 
ly  cut  and  only  a  large  swelling  marked  the  spot,  six 
weeks  later  the  surgeon's  probe  discovered  a  loose  piece 
of  skull,  which  he  duly  removed. 

As  I  peered  over  my  rifle  pit  I  gradually  became 
aware  that  the  mounted  Indians  were  disappearing 
around  a  bend  in  the  stream  in  the  direction  from 
which  the  command  had  come  on  the  previous  day, 
and  I  again  heard,  for  the  second  or  third  time,  the 
musical  tone  of  an  artillery  bugle.  I  now  began  to 
think  it  possible  that  Roman  Nose  had  some  rene 
gade  white  man  with  his  warriors,  especially  since  just 
as  our  last  horse  was  shot  down  some  one  shouted 
from  among  the  Indian  riflemen,  "  There  goes  the  last 
damned  horse  anyhow! "  Turning  these  things  over 
in  my  mind,  it  occurred  to  me  that  possibly  Roman 
Nose  might  be  forming  his  warriors  around  the  bend 
of  the  river  with  the  intention  of  charging  us,  shooting, 
and  trampling  us  to  death  as  he  rode  over  us.  I  called 
out  to  Lieutenant  Beecher  and  gave  him  my  opinion 
of  what  the  withdrawal  of  the  mounted  Indians  might 
possibly  mean.  Beecher,  McCall,  and  Grover  all  agreed 
with  me.  "  Then,  let  the  men  get  ready,"  was  the  order. 
In  a  few  moments  our  dispositions  were  made.  Each 
gun  was  loaded  to  its  capacity — one  shot  in  the  barrel, 
six  in  the  magazine — and  the  weapons  of  the  killed  and 


000,  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

badly  wounded  men  were  also  loaded  and  laid  close  at 
hand  ready  for  instant  use,  while  the  revolvers  were 
carefully  looked  to  and  loosened  in  their  holsters.  Or 
ders  were  given  for  the  men  to  lie  low,  so  as  not  to 
expose  themselves  unnecessarily  to  the  fire  of  the  In 
dian  riflemen,  who  were  besieging  us,  until  such  time 
as  the  word  should  be  given;  then  to  turn  in  their  pits, 
facing  the  charge,  and  fire  at  the  word. 

In  a  few  moments  after  our  preparations  were  com 
pleted  Roman  Nose  and  his  warriors  swept  around  the 
bend  of  the  stream,  out  of  and  well  beyond  rifle  range, 
with  a  front  of  about  sixty  men  and  a  depth  of  six  or 
eight  ranks.  Each  warrior  was,  with  the  exception  of  his 
cartridge  belt  and  box  and  moccasins,  perfectly  naked 
and  hideously  painted.  They  rode  barebacked  with  only 
a  horse-hair  lariat  wrapped  twice  around  the  middle  of 
their  horses  and  passing  loosely  over  each  knee;  their 
hair  was  braided  and  their  scalp  locks  ornamented  with 
feathers  or  else  their  heads  were  covered  with  war 
bonnets,  and  they  guided  their  animals  with  the  bridle 
reins  in  their  left  hands,  while  their  rifles  were  held 
squarely  across  the  front  of  their  bodies,  but  resting 
lightly  on  the  necks  of  their  horses. 

As  they  rode  into  view  they  halted  for  a  moment 
and  Roman  Nose  turned  and  addressed  them,  waving 
his  right  hand  toward  us  in  an  impassioned  manner. 
The  hills  or  rising  ground  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river  just  beyond  him  were  completely  covered  with 
women  and  children  anxiously  watching  the  fight,  and 
from  his  gestures  he  must  have  alluded  to  them  in 
his  speech.  Then  turning  squarely  toward  where  we 
lay,  he  shook  his  clinched  fist  at  us  and  evidently  gave 
the  word  of  command,  for  breaking  first  into  a  trot 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1808-'69.  223 

and  then  into  a  gallop,  but  always  keeping  a  splendid 
alignment,  the  massive  band  of  Indian  warriors  bore 
swiftly  down  upon  us. 

Eiding  well  in  front  of  the  centre  of  his  line  Roman 
Nose  led  the  charge  with  a  reckless  gallantry  that  may 
have  been  equalled,  but  could  not  have  been  excelled. 
Six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  and  perfectly  naked  save 
for  a  superb  war  bonnet  on  his  head,  a  crimson  silk  sash 
around  his  waist,  and  his  moccasins  on  his  feet,  showing 
immense  breadth  of  shoulder,  but  nevertheless  sinewy 
and  slim  both  in  waist  and  flank,  he  sat  well  forward 
on  his  barebacked  chestnut-coloured  charger,  with  his 
knees  under  the  lariat  that  twice  encircled  his  horse's 
body  and  his  rifle  held  just  below  the  trigger  in  his 
left  hand,  its  barrel  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  while  the 
same  hand  grasped  both  his  horse's  mane  and  bridle, 
leaving  his  right  arm  free  to  direct  his  men,  and  as  he 
came  charging  on  at  the  head  of  his  conmiand  he  was 
the  very  beau  ideal  of  an  Indian  chief.  Waving  his 
hand  with  a  royal  gesture  to  the  women  and  children 
on  the  bluffs,  who  broke  into  a  wildly  exultant  cry  as 
the  horsemen  started,  he  turned  slightly  and  directly 
faced  us,  and  then,  throwing  back  his  head  and  glancing 
skyward,  he  struck  the  palm  of  his  hand  across  his 
mouth  and  gave  tongue  to  a  blood-curdling  war  cry 
I  have  never  yet  heard  equalled,  which  was  instantly 
caught  up  and  echoed  by  his  own  band,  the  Indian 
riflemen,  and  the  women  and  children  over  beyond  the 
river's  northern  bank. 

As  soon  as  the  charging  warriors  had  fairly  started 
toward  us,  our  immediate  assailants,  who  lay  under 
cover  on  the  two  banks  of  the  river  opposite  the  island, 
opened  a  rapid  fire  on  us  from  both  sides,  with  the 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

intention  of  covering  us  to  such  an  extent  that  we 
would  not  dare  rise  from  our  rifle  pits  to  open  fire 
upon  the  attacking  force,  and  so  for  a  few  seconds 
bullets  fell  everywhere  around  us.  This  I  had  looked 
for,  but  I  well  knew  that  once  the  charging  Indians 
came  within  range  of  the  bullets  of  their  own  men  their 
fire  must  necessarily  cease.  Glancing  back  over  my 
command,  I  saw  that  they  had  all  turned  in  their 
rifle  pits  toward  the  foot  of  the  island,  the  direction 
from  which  the  charge  was  coming,  and,  crouching 
low,  with  their  knees  well  under  them,  their  rifles  close 
ly  gripped  in  their  sinewy  hands,  their  bronzed  faces 
set  like  iron,  and  their  eyes  fairly  ablaze  with  wrath, 
they  lay  with  nostrils  all  a-quiver,  impatiently  awaiting 
the  command  to  fire. 

Suddenly  the  fire  from  the  Indian  riflemen  ceased, 
and,  placing  my  back  against  my  rifle  pit  and  leaning 
on  my  elbows  against  its  sides,  I  shouted,  "  Now! "  and 
Beecher,  McCall,  and  Grover  echoed  the  cry. 

Instantly  starting  to  their  knees,  with  their  rifles 
at  shoulder  as  they  rose,  and  with  one  quick  glance 
along  the  barrel,  forty  good  men  and  true  sent  the  first 
of  seven  successive  crashing  volleys  into  the  on-rushing 
savage  horde.  Welcoming  the  first  and  second  volleys 
with  a  reckless  yell,  the  charging  warriors  came  gallant 
ly  on,  but  at  the  third  the  most  of  them  ceased  to  shout, 
and  I  could  see  great  gaps  in  their  ranks  and  men  and 
horses  going  down,  but  still  the  mass  of  them  bravely 
held  their  course,  Roman  Nose  leading  them  and  wildly 
waving  his  heavy  Springfield  rifle  over  his  head  as 
though  it  were  a  wisp  of  straw,  he  alone  still  shouting 
his  defiant  war  cry  as  he  swept  toward  us.  At  the 
fourth  volley  their  great  medicine  man,  who  was  lead- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  225 

ing  the  left  of  the  column,  went  suddenly  down,  and 
for  an  instant  the  column  seemed  to  check  its  speed, 
but  only  for  a  second,  and  then  with  a  mad  rush  it  came 
bounding  and  leaping  onward.  The  fifth  volley  seemed 
to  pile  men  and  horses  in  heaps,  and  at  the  sixth  Roman 
Nose  and  his  horse  went  down  in  death  together.  A 
hundred  feet  farther,  and  they  will  be  upon  us!  But 
now  the  column  hesitates  and  shakes,  and  the  scouts 
pour  in  their  last  and  seventh  volley  just  as  a  few  of  the 
warriors  reach  the  foot  of  our  little  island,  and  then, 
springing  quickly  to  their  feet,  with  wild  cheers  and 
imprecations  on  their  foes,  the  frontiersmen  suddenly 
pour  almost  into  the  very  faces  of  the  mounted  war 
riors  a  rapid  fire  from  their  revolvers;  while  the  Indian 
column  suddenly  divides  on  each  side  of  the  island  and 
breaks  in  all  directions  for  the  shelter  of  either  shore, 
the  now  completely  defeated  and  panic-stricken  savages, 
cowering  to  their  horses'  backs,  fearfully  demoralized, 
and  seeking  only  safety  in  eager  and  headlong  flight. 

"  Down,  men,  lie  down!  "  I  fairly  shriek.  "  Down  on 
your  lives!  "  shouts  McCall,  and  the  men,  hot  and  pant 
ing,  throw  themselves  flat  to  the  bottom  of  the  rifle 
pits  just  in  time  to  escape  a  scorching  volley  from  the 
Indian  riflemen  who  have  been  awaiting  their  oppor 
tunity  and  are  almost  wild  with  rage  at  the  death  of 
Eoman  Nose  and  the  outcome  of  his  desperate  charge. 
Turning  toward  Grover,  I  called  out,  "  Can  they  do  bet 
ter  than  that,  Grover?"  "Man  and  boy,  I  have  been 
on  the  plains  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  I  never 
saw  anything  like  that  before.  I  think  they  have  done 
their  level  best,"  was  his  reply. 

"All  right,"  was  my  response,  "we  are  good  for 
them,"  and  I  decided  then  and  there  that  the  staying 


226  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

powers  of  the  two  combatants  would  decide  the  issue. 
Just  then  Lieutenant  Beecher  rose  from  his  rifle  pit 
and,  staggering  and  leaning  on  his  rifle,  half  dragged 
himself  to  where  I  lay,  and  then  calmly  lying  down  by 
my  side,  laid  his  face  downward  on  his  arm  and  said, 
quietly  and  simply:  "  I  have  my  death  wound,  general. 
I  am  shot  in  the  side  and  dying." 

"  Oh,  no,  Beecher,  no.    It  can't  be  as  bad  as  that." 

"  Yes.  Good  night,"  and  he  sank  into  semiuncon- 
sciousness  almost  immediately.  I  heard  him  murmur 
once,  "  My  poor  mother! "  but  he  soon  became  slightly 
delirious,  and  at  sunset  his  life  went  out. 

Good  night,  good  knight! 

And  now  came  a  lull  in  the  battle.  While  the  very 
air  was  resonant  with  the  moans  and  shrieks  of  the 
women  and  children  in  the  hills  who  had  witnessed  the 
failure  of  Eoman  Nose's  attack,  and  could  see  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  husbands,  brothers,  and  sons  dotting  the 
sand  of  the  river's  bed  along  the  route  of  his  desperate 
charge,  the  Indians  in  ambush  continued  to  fire  at  us 
now  and  then,  but  we  were  well  covered  by  our  rifle  pits 
and  no  harm  came  to  us  from  that  source.  About  two 
o'clock  they  essayed  a  second  charge  under  new  leaders, 
but  it  was  delivered  weakly  in  comparison  with  the  first, 
for  they  broke  and  ran  with  a  small  loss  before  they 
came  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  island,  and  no  one 
of  our  force  was  injured  in  the  slightest  degree. 

About  six  o'clock,  however,  they  formed  back  in  the 
same  bend  or  canon  from  which  Roman  Nose  had  come, 
and  with  a  wild  rush  came  on  en  masse  in  a  perfect 
frenzy,  shouting  their  war  cries  and  firing  from  their 
horses'  backs  as  they  came.  But  in  the  meantime  the 
scouts  had  deepened  their  rifle  pits  and  strengthened 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  227 

and  repaired  the  little  earthworks,  so  that  they  were 
perfectly  protected  from  the  Indian  riflemen,  and  be 
sides  they  had  developed  perfect  confidence  in  them 
selves,  so  they  coolly  and  deliberately  picked  out  their 
men  and  dropped  many  of  them  as  soon  as  they  came 
well  within  range.  It  was  death  to  advance,  and  the 
Indians  soon  recognised  the  fact,  so  the  whole  com 
mand  broke  suddenly  and  fled  just  before  reaching  the 
foot  of  the  island.  It  was,  as  I  felt  it  would  be,  their 
last  attempt  at  a  charge.  When  night  came  it  began  to 
rain,  and  as  the  day  had  been  intensely  hot  it  was  most 
welcome. 

Out  of  fifty-one  men,  including  myself,  the  list  of 
casualties  was  as  follows:  Lieutenant  Beecher,  Surgeon 
Mooers,  and  scouts  Chalmers,  Smith,  and  Wilson  were 
dead  or  dying;  scouts  Louis  Farley  and  Bernard  Day 
were  mortally  wounded;  scouts  O'Donnell,  Davis, 
Tucker,  Gantt,  Clarke,  Armstrong,  Morton,  and  Violett 
severely,  and  scouts  Harrington,  Davenport,  Haley,  Mc- 
Laughlin,  Hudson  Farley,  McCall,  and  two  others 
slightly  wounded.  As  for  myself,  with  a  bullet  in  my 
right  thigh,  my  left  leg  broken  below  the  knee,  and  a 
painful  scalp  wound,  I  had  all  I  could  do  to  force  myself 
carefully  to  think  out  the  best  course  to  pursue  under 
existing  circumstances. 

Orders  were  issued  to  unsaddle  the  dead  horses, 
use  the  saddles  to  strengthen  our  works,  to  completely 
connect  the  rifle  pits  and  deepen  them  still  more,  and 
to  cut  off  large  steaks  from  the  dead  horses  and  mules 
and  bury  them  deep  in  the  sand  to  avoid  putrefaction. 
I  then  selected  two  men,  Trudeau,  an  old  trapper,  and 
Jack  Stillwell,  a  beardless  young  lad,  but  most  intelli 
gent  and  trustworthy  (since  a  well-known  frontier 


228  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

scout),  gave  them  my  only  map,  and  told  them  to  try 
and  steal  through  the  enemy's  lines  to  Fort  Wallace, 
about,  as  I  estimated,  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  dis 
tant,  and  to  give  to  the  commanding  officer  there,  Colo 
nel  Bankhead,  an  account  of  our  condition  and  to 
guide  him  to  where  we  lay,  as  I  well  knew  he  would 
unhesitatingly  come  to  our  assistance.  At  midnight 
they  took  off  their  boots,  hung  them  about  their  necks, 
and,  walking  backward  so  that  the  impression  left  by 
their  stocking  feet  might  seem  to  be  Indian  moccasins 
pointing  our  way,  stole  quietly  out  through  the  dark 
ness  and  disappeared.  I  may  as  well  state  here  that 
after  four  days  and  nights  of  perilous  adventure  they 
reached  the  post  in  safety,  but,  as  I  shall  hereafter 
show,  they  were  an  hour  or  two  late  with  their  infor 
mation. 

Having  made  the  wounded  as  comfortable  as  pos 
sible  with  water  dressings,  one  of  the  command  hav 
ing  dug  down  to  water  in  his  rifle  pit,  and  a  strong 
guard  having  been  posted,  I  ate  a  few  mouthfuls  of 
raw  horseflesh  and  dozed  away  until  morning.  The 
Indians,  evidently  believing  that  we  would  try  to  escape 
in  the  night,  approached  at  early  daylight  to  take  up 
our  trail.  Owing  to  some  one  accidentally  discharging 
his  rifle  they  threw  themselves  flat  on  the  ground,  and 
we  only  succeeded  in  killing  one  of  them.  This  next 
day  was  very  hot,  and  we  that  were  wounded  suffered 
intensely.  There  was  some  fighting  now  and  then,  but 
our  besiegers  kept  their  distance  when  they  ascertained 
that  they  could  not  advance  under  cover  of  a  white 
flag. 

During  all  this  time  I  noticed  that  there  was 
a  steady  beating  of  drums  and  death  chants  among  the 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1868-'69.  229 

women  in  the  main  camp  of  the  savages.  It  was  a 
weary  enough  day,  for  we  were  out  of  food  save  horse 
and  mule  meat,  which  we  had  to  eat  without  cooking, 
but  fortunately  we  had  plenty  of  good  water.  At 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  I  sent  out  two  more  men  to  try 
for  Fort  Wallace,  but  every  outlet  was  guarded,  and 
they  returned  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  The 
third  day  was  fortunately  cloudy.  Our  besiegers  kept 
up  a  desultory  firing  now  and  then,  but  it  did  us  no 
harm.  At  noon  Scout  Grover  informed  me  that  the 
Indian  women  and  children  were  beginning  to  with 
draw,  and  I  concluded  at  once  that  the  Indians  had 
decided  to  give  up  the  fight.  Accordingly,  I  took  my 
memorandum  book  and  pencilled  the  following  de 
spatch: 

"  ON  DELAWARE  CREEK,  REPUBLICAN  RIVER, 

"  September  19,  1868. 
"  To  Colonel  BanJchead,  or  Commanding  Officer,  Fort  Wallace  : 

"I  sent  you  two  messengers  on  the  night  of  the 
17th  instant,  informing  you  of  my  critical  condition. 
I  tried  to  send  two  more  last  night,  but  they  did  not 
succeed  in  passing  the  Indian  pickets,  and  returned. 
If  the  others  have  not  arrived,  then  hasten  at  once  to 
my  assistance.  I  have  eight  badly  wounded  and  ten 
slightly  wounded  men  to  take  in,  and  every  animal  I 
had  was  killed,  save  seven,  which  the  Indians  stam 
peded.  Lieutenant  Beecher  is  dead,  and  Acting-As 
sistant-Surgeon  Mooers  probably  can  not  live  the  night 
out.  He  was  hit  in  the  head  Thursday,  and  has  spoken 
but  one  rational  word  since.  I  am  wounded  in  two 
places — in  the  right  thigh  and  my  left  leg  broken  below 
the  knee.  The  Cheyennes  alone  number  four  hundred 
and  fifty  or  more.  Mr.  Grover  says  they  never  fought 
so  before.  They  were  splendidly  armed  with  Spencer 
and  Henry  rifles.  We  killed  at  least  thirty-five  of  them, 
16 


230  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  wounded  many  more,  besides  killing  and  wounding 
a  quantity  of  their  stock.  They  carried  off  most  of  their 
killed  during  the  night,  but  three  of  their  men  fell  into 
our  hands.  I  am  on  a  little  island,  and  have  still  plenty 
of  ammunition  left.  We  are  living  on  mule  and  horse 
meat,  and  are  entirely  out  of  rations.  If  it  was  not  for 
so  many  wounded,  I  would  come  in,  and  take  the 
chances  of  whipping  them  if  attacked.  They  are  evi 
dently  sick  of  their  bargain. 

"  I  had  two  of  the  members  of  my  company  killed 
on  the  17th — namely,  William  Wilson  and  George  W. 
Chalmers.  You  had  better  start  with  not  less  than 
seventy-five  men,  and  bring  all  the  wagons  and  ambu 
lances  you  can  spare.  Bring  a  six-pound  howitzer  with 
you.  I  can  hold  out  here  for  six  days  longer  if  abso 
lutely  necessar}r,  but  please  lose  no  time. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH, 
"  U.  S.  Army,  Commanding  Company  Scouts. 

"  P.  S. — My  surgeon  having  been  mortally  wounded, 
none  of  my  wounded  have  had  their  wounds  dressed  yet, 
so  please  bring  out  a  surgeon  with  you." 

I  confided  this  to  two  excellent  men,  Donovan  and 
Pliley.  They  left  our  intrenchments  at  midnight,  and 
as  they  did  not  return  I  was  hopeful  that  they  had  es 
caped  the  vigilance  of  the  Indian  sentries  and  were 
on  their  way  to  Fort  Wallace.  It  was  these  two  men, 
who  fell  in  with  Colonel  L.  H.  Carpenter's  command 
two  days  later,  that  gave  the  first  intimation  of  our 
plight  to  department  headquarters. 

The  wound  in  my  thigh  having  become  exceed 
ingly  painful,  I  asked  some  of  the  men  to  cut  the 
bullet  out,  but  as  it  lay  very  near  the  femoral  artery 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  231 

they  all  declined  to  attempt  it.  Taking  my  razor, 
which  happened  to  be  in  my  saddle  bags,  and  getting 
two  of  the  men  to  press  the  flesh  tautly  back,  I  man 
aged  to  cut  it  out  myself,  greatly  to  my  almost  im 
mediate  relief.  On  the  fourth  day  our  horse  and 
mule  meat  became  putrid,  but  one  of  the  men  shot  a 
little  gray  coyote  wolf  that  helped  out  somewhat.  It 
was  weary  work  waiting,  and  on  the  fifth  day  the  Indi 
ans  began  to  withdraw.  I  had  the  men  raise  me  up  on 
a  blanket  to  get  a  better  view  of  affairs,  and  suddenly 
the  Indians  sent  in  a  fusillade  of  about  twenty  shots. 
The  man  who  held  the  corner  of  the  blanket  upon  which 
rested  my  broken  leg  dropped  it,  causing  the  bone  to 
part  and  protrude  through  the  flesh,  much  to  my  sav 
agely  expressed  wrath. 

On  the  sixth  day  I  called  the  well  men  together 
and  told  them  that  as  there  was  no  certainty  that 
our  messengers  could  get  through  they  were  entitled  to 
a  chance  for  their  lives.  I  believed  that  most  of  our 
enemies  had  withdrawn,  and  as  they  were  well  armed 
I  doubted  if  any  ordinary  body  of  Indians  would  dare 
attack  them  on  their  way  to  Fort  Wallace.  As  for 
us  wounded  men,  we  must  take  our  chances  if  at 
tacked.  For  a  few  moments  there  was  a  dead  silence, 
and  then  rose  a  hoarse  shout  of:  "  Never!  never!  We'll 
stand  by  you,  general,  until  the  end";  McCall  saying, 
"  We've  fought  together,  and,  by  heavens,  if  need  be, 
we'll  die  together." 

The  next  two  days — the  Indians  only  keeping  a 
vedette  in  sight,  and  most  of  them  having  disap 
peared — seemed  to  me  to  be  almost  interminable. 
We  all  became  weaker  for  want  of  food,  but  as  we 
had  an  abundance  of  water  and  were  lying  still,  we 


232  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

did  not  suffer  very  much.  On  the  morning  of  the 
ninth  day  one  of  the  men  lying  near  me  suddenly 
sprang  up,  and,  shading  his  hand  with  his  eyes,  shouted, 
"  There  are  some  moving  objects  on  the  far  hills! " 
Every  well  man  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  and  then 
some  keen-eyed  scout  shouted,  "  By  the  God  above  us, 
it's  an  ambulance!  "  The  strain  was  over.  It  was  Col 
onel  Carpenter  with  a  troop  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry. 

I  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  me  if  I  have  been  pro 
lix,  but  this  was  my  own  part  in  the  Sioux  campaign  of 
1868.  From  that  time  until  its  close  I  watched  it 
through  the  despatches  sent  in  from  the  front.  In  this 
fight  the  Indians  afterward  admitted  a  loss  of  seventy- 
five  killed  and  many  wounded,  and  a  fighting  force  of 
nine  hundred  and  seventy  warriors. 


CHAPTER   X. 

A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF    1868 
AND    1869. 

THE  suffering  of  the  men  who  marched  to  the  res 
cue  of  the  beleaguered  troops  at  Fort  Phil  Kearny 
during  the  winter  months  of  1866  and  1867  was  almost 
unbearable.  Campaigning  in  the  teeth  of  a  blizzard 
and  struggling  along  in  a  blinding  swirl  of  snow,  with 
the  thermometer  ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  degrees 
below  zero,  tests  the  individual  strength  of  soldiers  to 
the  very  verge  of  human  endurance,  and  the  begin 
ning  of  winter  had  heretofore  meant  the  close  of  mili 
tary  campaigning  against  the  Indians  on  the  great 
plains. 

No  one  knew  this  fact  better  than  the  Indians 
themselves,  and  as  soon  as  November's  snow  covered 
the  grass  they  always  left  the  war  path  and  proceeded 
to  snugly  ensconce  themselves  in  comfortable  shape 
by  selecting  a  sheltered  site  on  the  wooded  bank  of 
some  large  stream  far  away  from  the  outermost  limits 
of  even  the  most  advanced  line  of  frontier  settlements. 
Here  they  established  their  camp  in  permanent  winter 
quarters,  to  which,  in  due  time,  their  scouting  parties 
brought  their  supplies  of  dried  buffalo,  deer,  and  other 
meats,  which  had  been  put  up  by  the  squaws  at  various 


234  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDI ER. 

periods  during  the  preceding  summer,  and  securely  hid 
den  or  cached  against  this  time  of  'need,  for  the  vast 
herds  of  buffalo  upon  which  they  relied  for  food  always 
migrated  as  soon  as  the  grass  was  snow  capped,  seek 
ing  pasture  in  the  South  or  up  among  the  wooded  foot 
hills  of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  Neither  had  they  any 
longer  forage  for  their  ponies,  who  were  herded  under 
guard  of  the  half-grown  boys  and  women  along  the 
bottom  lands  of  the  river  upon  which  their  camp  was 
located,  and  became  thin  and  weak  upon  such  gama 
grass  as  they  could  get  by  scraping  away  the  snow  with 
their  hoofs  or  filled  their  gnawing  stomachs  with  the 
summer's  growth  of  swamp  willow  shoots,  which  grew 
on  the  bushes  that  lined  the  banks  of  the  stream. 

They  had  no  fear  of  other  hostile  tribes,  for  they 
well  knew  that  they  too  would  abandon  the  war  path 
during  the  winter,  and  as  for  the  white  man,  they  felt 
that  where  they  could  not  overcome  the  rigours  of  the 
climate  it  would  be  in  vain  for  him  to  attempt  to  do  so; 
moreover,  all  experience  in  former  wars  had  shown  that 
with  the  advent  of  winter  the  soldiers  were  withdrawn 
to  the  shelter  of  the  permanent  posts  until  the  following 
spring.  So,  with  their  tepees  strongly  pitched  against 
the  strength  of  the  winter  winds,  banked  up  with  earth, 
and  doubly  covered  with  Indian-tanned  buffalo  hides, 
the  red-handed  warriors,  who  had  so  successfully  har 
ried  the  Western  frontier,  killed  the  men  of  its  isolated 
settlements,  outraged  their  women,  and  then  merci 
lessly  butchered  them  and  their  little  children,  made 
their  camp  warm  and  comfortable,  and  quietly  sat  down 
in  fancied  security  and  savage  idleness  and  proceeded 
to  leisurely  while  away  the  winter  in  card  playing, 
feasting,  dancing,  and  boasting  against  the  next 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  235 

spring's  campaign;  while  far  away  along  the  line  of 
the  scattered  frontier  the  white  snow  fell  silently  and, 
blown  by  the  prairie  winds,  drifted  against  and  finally 
covered,  as  with  a  white  pall,  the  half -burned  logs  that 
marked  the  site  of  the  once  happy  home  of  the  dead 
frontiersman  and  his  family. 

The  close  of  the  summer's  campaign  of  1868  against 
the  Indians  on  the  Western  plains,  while  it  had  resulted 
in  some  losses  to  the  savages,  had  not  done  them  enough 
harm  to  take  the  fight  out  of  them  or  convince  them 
that  the  Government  was  strong  enough  to  effectually 
punish  them  for  their  attacks  on  the  frontier  settle 
ments.  On  the  contrary,  abandoning  the  Powder  Eiver 
country,  together  with  the  evacuation  of  Forts  Keno, 
Phil  Kearny,  and  C.  F.  Smith  at  their  arrogant  demand, 
which  posts  they  promptly  burned  as  soon  as  the  troops 
were  withdrawn,  had  made  them  confident  in  their  own 
strength  and  buoyed  them  up  with  the  idea  that  the 
Government  feared  them,  for  the  wild  Indian,  from  the 
very  nature  of  his  training,  can  not  comprehend  that 
anything  once  in  the  possession  of  another  should  ever 
be  given  up  save  and  only  through  fear. 

General  Sheridan,  however,  had  already  determined 
upon  a  winter  campaign,  but  he  alone  was  confident  of 
its  ultimate  success,  and  accordingly  he  at  once  sternly 
set  about  its  execution,  despite  predictions  of  its  failure 
by  old  frontiersmen  as  well  as  some  of  his  subordinates, 
who  in  age  and  length  of  service  were  much  older  sol 
diers  than  he  was,  even  if  of  much  less  exalted  rank  in 
the  army.  Up  to  this  time  a  winter's  campaign  on  the 
great  plains  was  an  unheard  of  proceeding,  and  was  re 
garded  as  an  impossibility,  but,  never  doubting  or  hesi 
tating,  the  general  threw  himself  into  its  execution  with 


236  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

all  his  accustomed  energy  and  thoroughness  of  detail. 
He  ordered  the  establishment  of  a  supply  depot  at 
Monument  Creek,  in  southern  Kansas,  from  which  a 
force  of  six  hundred  infantry  was  to  operate  along  the 
banks  of  the  main  Canadian  River.  A  second  supply 
depot  was  made  near  the  head  waters  of  the  North  Ca 
nadian  Biver,  from  which  five  troops  of  cavalry  were 
to  operate  southward  toward  Antelope  Hills.  These 
two  commands  were  to  keep  scouting,  constantly  mov 
ing  over  a  certain  designated  section  of  country,  so  as 
to  hunt  out  any  detached  bands  of  Indians  that  might 
be  wintering  in  their  vicinity.  The  third  and  main 
winter  supply  depot  was  located  near  the  junction  of 
Beaver  Creek  and  the  North  Candian  River  in  Indian 
Territory,  rather  more  than  one  hundred  miles  south 
of  Fort  Dodge,  and  was  known  as  Camp  Supply. 

The  troops  at  this  cantonment  were  eleven  troops  of 
the  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry,  four  companies  of 
infantry,  and  the  Nineteenth  Kansas  Cavalry,  a  newly 
recruited  regiment  of  volunteers  for  Indian  service. 
Early  in  November  General  Sheridan  took  up  his  field 
headquarters  at  this  point  that  the  winter's  operations 
in  the  field  might  be  almost  under  his  personal  super 
vision.  The  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry  had  been 
organized  at  the  close  of  the  civil  war.  Its  officers  were 
men  who  had  seen  much  service  in  the  South,  and  most 
of  its  enlisted  men  were  old  soldiers  who  had  served  in 
various  volunteer  regiments  from  1861  to  1865.  Its 
lieutenant  colonel,  and  commanding  officer  in  the  field, 
was  General  George  A.  Custer,  one  of  the  youngest, 
most  dashing,  and  capable  of  our  cavalry  generals  dur 
ing  the  civil  war,  and  with  a  well-deserved  reputation 
for  great  personal  gallantry  and  untiring  energy.  On 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  237 

the  evening  of  November  22d  he  was  ordered  to  take 
the  field  on  the  following  day  and  find  and  attack  the 
Indians  in  their  winter  camps,  presumably  somewhere 
along  the  Washita  River. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  No 
vember  reveille  aroused  the  sleeping  troopers  from 
their  little  dog  tents  to  roll  call.  It  was  too  dark  to  see, 
but  they  realized  that  the  snow  was  a  foot  in  depth, 
the  thermometer  below  zero,  and  a  blinding  blizzard 
of  a  snowstorm  raging  apparently  in  all  directions.  Be 
yond  feeding  their  shivering  horses,  which  were  tied 
to  a  picket  rope  in  the  open,  and  brushing  the  snow 
from  their  backs,  stable  call  was  a  farce,  breakfast  at 
5  A.  M.  standing  in  the  snow  around  a  camp  fire  was 
not  much  better,  though  a  cup  or  two  of  hot  coffee  was 
relished  most  decidedly.  The  trumpet  call  of  "  the 
general "  set  every  one  to  work  taking  down  and  pack 
ing  the  tents,  and  just  before  daylight  "  Boots  and  sad 
dles  "  told  the  half -frozen  men  that  they  were  in  for 
the  winter's  campaign.  Saddling  was  shortly  over. 
"  To  horse  "  and  "  Mount "  quickly  followed,  and  the 
regiment  moved  out  in  column  of  twos,  preceded  by 
the  scouts  and  Indian  guides,  but  so  dense  was  the 
snowstorm  that  the  Indian  guides  confessed  their  in 
ability  to  find  the  way  to  Wolf  Creek,  fifteen  miles  dis 
tant,  which  was  to  be  the  first  night's  camping  ground. 
In  fact,  it  was  not  possible  to  see  anything  twenty  yards 
away  from  the  column,  so  General  Ouster  took  out  his 
map,  and  the  command  found  their  way  through  the 
storm  to  Wolf  Creek  solely  by  aid  of  the  compass. 

How  the  heavily  laden  little  wagon  train  of  supplies 
managed  to  get  through  to  the  camp  was  almost  incom 
prehensible  to  the  whole  command,  but  the  frontier 


238  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  bull  whacker  "  develops  into  a  marvellous  mule  driver, 
and  the  Government  mule,  when  compelled  to  do  so,  can 
climb  up  a  hill  or  slide  down  it,  like  a  goat,  and  pull  a 
heavily  loaded  wagon  after  him,  squirm  out  of  its  way 
when  it  comes  thundering  down  upon  him,  and  never 
get  out  of  harness  either.  But  reaching  camp  was 
a  great  deal  owing  to  the  escort  to  the  wagon  train, 
which  was  one  of  the  troops  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry, 
that  did  yeoman  work  that  winter's  day,  by  the  aid  of 
long  coils  of  rope  and  their  lariats,  in  fairly  lifting  the 
train  of  wagons  up,  down,  and  over  the  hills,  rocks,  and 
ravines  that  lay  in  its  road  to  camp.  The  24th  was 
little  better,  though  the  storm  abated  somewhat  as  the 
command  continued  its  march  up  the  valley  of  Wolf 
Creek,  but  the  thermometer  registered  seven  degrees 
below  zero  and  the  snow  was  eighteen  inches  deep  on 
the  level.  Of  the  march  on  the  25th  General  Custer 
writes:  "  Our  route  still  kept  up  the  valley  of  Wolf 
Creek.  Nothing  w^as  particularly  worthy  of  notice  ex 
cept  the  immense  quantities  of  game  seeking  shelter 
from  the  storm  offered  by  the  little  strip  of  timber  ex 
tending  along  the  valley  of  Wolf  Creek  and  its  tribu 
taries.  Even  the  buffaloes  with  their  huge  shaggy  coats 
huddled  together  in  the  timber,  so  drowsy  or  benumbed 
from  the  effects  of  the  cold  as  not  to  discover  our  ap 
proach,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  Indian  scouts  and  the 
marching  column,  and  a  '  bountiful  supply  of  fresh 
meat  was  laid  in.' '; 

That  night  the  command  again  encamped  in  the 
valley,  but  the  weather  was  bitter  cold,  and  as  they 
stood  in  the  snow  around  their  little  camp  fires,  for 
fuel  at  this  point  was  scarce,  and  ate  their  supper  of 
smoky  and  half -roasted  buffalo  meat,  bacon,  hardtack, 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  239 

and  coffee,  it  was  not  strange  that  their  thoughts  flew 
far  afield  to  other  days  and  other  scenes,  for  it  was 
Thanksgiving  eve,  and  memory  did  not  fail  to  bring 
back  to  most  of  them  cheerful  hearthstones  and  ample 
but  dainty  tables,  groaning  beneath  the  choicest 
viands,  surrounded  by  bright  and  joyous  faces,  instinct 
with  good  cheer,  content,  and  happiness;  and  so  even 
the  best  and  most  enthusiastic  soldier  among  them  was 
a  bit  more  quiet  than  usual,  as  he  smoked  his  pipe  and 
thought  of  the  far-away  loved  ones  ere  he  wrapped  his 
blanket  about  him  and,  crawling  into  his  little  dog  tent, 
lay  down  to  sleep  on  the  frozen  earth,  from  which  he 
had  managed  in  some  manner  to  sweep  away  most  of  the 
snow  with  which  it  had  been  covered.  The  next  night 
the  command  encamped  near  the  mouth  of  a  little 
stream  that  emptied  into  the  Canadian  Eiver  a  mile 
or  so  farther  on.  Wood  was  plenty  and  the  camp  was 
an  unusually  good  one.  General  Ouster  decided  to 
move  his  command  across  the  Canadian  River  the  next 
day,  but  determined  to  send  Major  Elliott  with  three 
full  troops  of  the  regiment  on  a  scout  fifteen  miles  up 
the  valley  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  in  search  of 
any  recent  Indian  trail  made  since  the  snow  had  fallen 
by  any  belated  war  party  that  might  give  him  a  clew  to 
the  probable  location  of  the  winter  camps  of  the  Indi 
ans,  and  possibly  a  straight  road  thereto. 

Major  Elliott  was  promptly  off  by  daylight,  and,  a 
ford  having  been  found,  General  Custer  crossed  his  com 
mand,  but  it  was  hard  and  dangerous  work,  as  the  river 
was  bank  full  with  a  rapid  current  and  quantities  of 
floating  ice,  to  say  nothing  of  the  bottom  being  in  places 
quicksand.  However,  by  doubling  the  teams  and  the 
free  use  of  ropes  and  lariats  it  was  finally  accomplished; 


240  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  by  eleven  o'clock  the  train  and  the  whole  command 
was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Canadian  River  and  had 
moved  across  the  valley  and  up  on  to  the  level  of  the 
great  plains.  Just  as  this  was  accomplished  Corbin,  one 
of  Ouster's  scouts,  came  riding  at  full  speed  with  the 
information  that  Major  Elliott,  when  twelve  miles  up 
the  north  fork  of  the  Canadian,  had  discovered  the 
trail  of  an  Indian  war  party  one  hundred  and  fifty 
strong  not  twenty-four  hours  old,  had  followed  it 
across  to  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  and  was  in  full 
pursuit.  Corbin  was  furnished  a  fresh  horse  and  sent 
back  full  speed  to  tell  Elliott  to  push  on  until  8  P.  M., 
and  if  by  that  time  Custer  had  not  joined  him  to  camp 
and  wait  for  him. 

Leaving  his  train  under  guard  of  eighty  men  with 
instructions  to  follow  as  fast  as  possible,  Custer  set 
out  with  the  rest  of  the  force  to  overtake  the  major. 
Each  trooper  carried  one  hundred  rounds  of  ammu 
nition,  coffee,  and  hard  bread,  and  a  small  amount 
of  forage.  Tents  and  extra  blankets  were  left  with 
the  wagons.  It  was  to  be  a  ride  that  was  to  end 
only  when  the  enemy  had  been  struck.  The  snow 
was  now  a  foot  deep  on  the  plains,  but  the  weather 
had  moderated,  so  that  at  midday  the  upper  crust 
became  soft.  Custer  took  a  direct  line  across  the 
open  plain  and  frequently  changed  the  leading  troop 
of  his  column,  as  breaking  the  way  was  exhaust 
ing  to  the  horses.  It  was  not  until  9  P.  M.  that 
he  overtook  Elliott,  who  had  halted  near  the  trail  on 
a  stream  of  good  water  and  was  concealed  in  the  tim 
ber  awaiting  his  arrival.  The  horses  were  unsaddled, 
well  rubbed  down,  and  given  a  good  feed  of  oats.  Camp 
fires  were  built  under  the  steep  banks  of  the  creek  to 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN. 

conceal  the  fire  from  observation,  and  the  men  made 
coffee,  which  with  "  hardtack "  was  a  most  welcome 
meal. 

After  an  hour's  rest  the  horses  were  quietly  sad 
dled  and  without  the  slightest  noise  the  cavalry  moved 
out  again  and  took  up  the  trail  by  moonlight,  led  by 
the  Osage  guides  and  the  scouts  California  Joe  and 
Corbin.  Not  a  loud  word  was  spoken,  and  strict  orders 
prohibited  the  lighting  of  a  match  or  smoking  of  a  pipe. 
After  following  the  trail  for  a  number  of  miles  the 
command  was  halted  at  the  request  of  one  of  the  Osage 
Indian  scouts,  who  averred  that  he  smelled  fire.  This 
was  doubted,  but  he  was  ordered  to  advance  cautiously, 
and  the  cavalry  slowly  followed.  Half  a  mile  farther  on 
a  small  camp  fire  was  discovered  slowly  smouldering 
in  the  timber.  The  Indian  scouts  now  advanced  cau 
tiously,  and,  after  carefully  examining  the  vicinity  and 
hunting  over  the  ground,  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that 
this  fire  had  been  kindled  by  Indian  boys,  who  had 
been  grazing  and  herding  their  ponies  there  the  pre 
vious  day,  and  that  the  Indian  village  was  probably 
within  two  or  three  miles  distance.  The  Indian  scouts 
again  took  up  the  trail,  but  moved  very  cautiously,  the 
cavalry  keeping  some  distance  to  the  rear  and  moving 
as  silently  as  possible.  Ouster  himself  now  accompa 
nied  the  two  Osage  Indian  scouts,  who  kept  just  at  his 
horse's  head. 

He  writes:  "  The  same  one  who  discovered  fire 
advanced  cautiously  to  the  crest  and  looked  carefully 
into  the  valley  beyond,  .  .  .  then  crouched  down,  and 
came  creeping  back.  'What  is  it?'  '  Heaps  Injuns  down 
there.'  "  In  a  moment  Ouster  had  dismounted,  crept  to 
the  crest,  and  looked  over.  He  could  indistinctly  see 


THE  STOftY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  herd  of  some  kind  of  animals,  but  a  moment  later  the 
bark  of  a  dog  followed  by  the  tinkling  of  a  bell  told 
him  it  was  the  Indian  pony  herd,  and  he  knew  then  that 
his  force  was  fairly  upon  the  winter  camp  of  the  Indi 
ans  and  undiscovered.  It  was  now  past  midnight.  So, 
quickly  but  quietly  hurrying  back  to  his  troops,  Ouster 
assembled  all  his  officers,  told  them  to  take  off  their 
sabres,  that  their  clanking  might  not  make  any  noise, 
and  silently  guided  them  to  the  crest.  There  in  the 
moonlight  he  pointed  out  the  location  of  the  village, 
that  they  all  might  have  a  good  general  idea  of  the 
exact  situation,  and  stealthily  withdrawing  to  the 
regiment,  which  was  standing  to  horse  on  the  trail 
a  little  less  than  a  mile  distant,  he  gave  his  orders 
for  the  attack.  He  divided  his  force  into  four  detach 
ments  of  nearly  equal  strength— his  entire  command 
numbered  something  .more  than  eight  hundred  men — 
with  instructions  to  two  of  the  detachments  to  move 
out  at  once  and  make  a  circuitous  march  of  several 
miles  and  take  position  on  the  farther  side  of  the  Indian 
village,  and  within  little  more  than  an  hour  after 
they  had  left  the  column  these  two  detachments,  which 
had  moved  out  to  the  left  for  the  farther  side  of  the 
village,  had  made  a  long  detour  and  carefully  and  cau 
tiously  taken  up  their  allotted  positions,  and  lay  silent 
and  undiscovered  within  a  short  half  mile  of  the  Indian 
camp,  the  tepees  of  which  occupied  the  timber  along 
the  river  bank  in  a  straggling  line  that  stretched  down 
stream  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

Another  detachment  moved  slowly  and  silently 
about  a  mile  to  the  right  of  the  trail  and  took  up  a 
position  in  the  valley  on  the  right  of  the  village,  par 
tially  concealed  in  a  clump  of  timber.  Ouster  with  the 


The  attack   mi    Hlark    Keltic's  camp. 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  243 

fourth  detachment  remained  on  the  main  trail.  The 
village  was  thus  completely  surrounded,  and  the  orders 
were  for  all  the  detachments  to  approach  the  village 
as  near  as  might  he  without  running  great  risk  of  dis 
covery,  conceal  themselves  as  much  as  possible,  and  to 
remain  absolutely  quiet  until  daylight.  Strict  orders 
were  given  that  not  a  match  was  to  be  lighted  or  a 
shot  to  be  fired  until  the  charge  was  sounded  by  the 
regimental  trumpeter  in  Ouster's  detachment,  when 
each  of  the  other  three  detachments  were  to  charge 
upon  the  village  and  attack  it  at  all  points.  It  grew 
very  cold  toward  morning,  but  the  men  were  not  al 
lowed  to  make  the  slightest  noise,  not  even  to  swing 
their  arms  or  stamp  their  feet,  and  it  was  over  four 
long  hours  to  day,  even  after  the  various  detachments 
reached  their  hiding  places. 

Custer  had  no  absolute  knowledge  that  they  had 
done  so,  but  he  knew  he  could  depend  upon  his  offi 
cers  to  do  all  that  was  possible.  While  waiting  the 
attack  the  men  were  all  dismounted,  each  man  hold 
ing  his  own  horse,  and  many  of  them,  while  still 
holding  their  bridles,  wrapped  the  capes  of  their 
overcoats  over  their  heads  and  threw  themselves  down 
in  the  snow  in  front  of  their  horses  and  went  to 
sleep.  At  the  first  sign  of  dawn  every  one  was  astir. 
Overcoats  were  taken  off  and  strapped  to  the  saddle, 
in  order  that  the  men's  movements  might  not  be  im 
peded  by  their  bulk  and  weight,  carbines  were  care 
fully  loaded  and  slung,  pistols  examined  and  loosened 
in  their  holsters,  saddles  recinched,  and  curb  chains 
carefully  looked  to.  Then  as  a  whispered  command 
to  mount  ran  quietly  along  the  line  the  men  sprang 
lightly  into  their  saddles,  gathered  up  their  reins,  fixed 


24-4  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

their  eyes  for  an  instant  on  the  brightening  heavens  in 
the  east,  and  turned  with  quickened  ears  and  eager 
eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  impatiently  await 
ing  the  bugle  blast,  which  they  well  knew  would 
soon  wake  the  echoes  along  the  banks  of  the  Washita. 

At  this  moment  Ouster,  at  the  head  of  his  command, 
was  moving  at  a  slow  walk  on  the  main  trail  to  the  vil 
lage.  His  bugler,  with  his  trumpet  in  his  hand  and  his 
eyes  on  the  general,  rides  by  his  side,  while  just  in  the 
rear  is  the  regimental  band,  the  leader  of  which  has  had 
orders  to  play  Garry  Owen,  the  regimental  war  cry,  the 
instant  the  charge  is  sounded.  A  turn  in  the  trail,  and 
in  the  dim  light  of  early  morning,  five  hundred  yards 
distant,  dotting  the  north  bank  of  the  Washita  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  without  a  sign  of  human 
life  about  it,  lay  the  Indian  village.  From  the  top  of 
two  or  three  of  the  tepees  a  light  wreath  of  smoke  floated 
languidly  on  the  cold,  still  morning  air,  while  close  to 
it  is  the  pony  herd,  but  the  ponies  evidently  sense  dan 
ger,  and,  throwing  up  their  heads,  the  herd  began  to 
slowly  move  off.  For  an  instant  Ouster  believed  that 
the  Indians  have  been  warned  and  feared  that  the  vil 
lage  was  deserted.  The  next  second  his  astonished  ears 
heard  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle  from  the  other  end  of 
the  village.  Instantly  turning  to  his  trumpeter,  Ouster 
commanded,"  Sound  the  charge!  "  Placing  his  trumpet 
to  his  lips  he  obeyed,  and  as  the  piercing  blare  of  "  the 
charge "  cut  clearly  through  the  frosty  air  Ouster 
glanced  back  over  his  shoulder  at  his  expectant  band 
leader,  driving  the  rowels  of  his  spurs  into  his  charger's 
flanks  as  he  did  so,  and  shouted,  "Play!"  and  then  to 
the  rollicking  air  of  Garry  Owen  the  whole  column 
breaks  into  a  mad  gallop,  dashed  out  around  and  by  the 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  245 

band,  and  with  a  ringing  cheer  and  in  a  mighty  rush 
swept  down  the  trail  to  the  village.  While  borne  on  the 
rushing  wind  to  Ouster's  anxious  ears,  as  they  galloped 
on,  three  other  trumpets  echoed  the  blare  of  his  own  in 
answering  charge,  and  from  every  side  of  the  doomed 
Indian  village,  with  hoarse  and  heavy  cheers  and  thun 
dering  stride,  came  three  other  converging  columns  of 
cavalry,  charging  straight  for  the  Indian  tepees.  It 
was  a  complete  surprise  to  the  Indians,  and  the  sleep 
ing  warriors  sprang  from  their  couches,  grasped  their 
arms,  and,  throwing  back  the  entering  flap  of  their 
tepees,  leaped  into  the  open  air,  rifles  in  hand,  to  make 
what  stand  they  could  against  their  enemies.  The 
screams  of  the  women  and  children,  the  howling  and 
baying  of  the  Indian  dogs,  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers, 
the  crack  of  rifles,  and  the  wild  rush  of  the  charging 
troopers  through  the  village,  mingled  with  the  defiant 
war  cry  of  the  now  desperate  Cheyennes,  made  for  a 
short  time  a  heartrending  scene  of  awful  retribution, 
for  the  cavalry  had  fallen  upon  Black  Kettle's  band, 
the  very  worst  in  the  Cheyenne  nation,  and  the  one 
that  had  done  more  to  devastate  the  Kansas  frontier 
than  any  other  one  band  on  the  great  plains. 

Whatever  may  be  truthfully  said  against  the  Ameri 
can  Indian,  and  much  that  is  bad  can  be  truthfully  said, 
cowardice  is  not  one  of  his  faults,  especially  of  the  Chey 
enne,  and,  fiend  that  he  was,  Black  Kettle  was  no  cow 
ard.  He  was  the  very  first  to  spring  fully  armed  from 
his  tepee,  for  his  quick  ear  had  caught  the  sound  of  ad 
vancing  cavalry  even  before  the  trumpet  sounded  the 
charge,  and,  firing  his  rifle  as  a  signal  to  his  band  (this 
was  the  gunshot  that  had  startled  Glister),  he  called 
upon  them  to  rally,  shouting  his  war  cry  of  defiance  as 
17 


246  THE   STORY   OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  cavalry  swept  down  upon  his  village,  where,  dis 
daining  flight,  he  was  one  of  the  first  Indians  to  fall 
dead  from  the  opening  volleys  of  the  cavalry,  but  he 
fell  gallantly  fighting  and  at  the  front,  dying  bravely, 
like  the  savage  warrior  that  he  was.  In  less  than  an 
hour  the  cavalry  had  complete  possession  of  the  Indian 
village,  but  only  after  hard  fighting. 

But  soon  the  question  was,  Could  they  hold  it?  All 
of  the  Indian  warriors  who  had  escaped  from  the  tepees 
had  taken  position  behind  rocks,  trees,  and  under  cover 
of  the  river  bank,  and,  led  by  Little  Rock,  the  next  in 
rank  to  Black  Kettle,  now  assailed  the  cavalry  from  all 
sides.  Custer  soon  saw  that  he  had  sharp  work  before 
him,  and  was  much  puzzled  at  the  apparent  strength  of 
his  assailants,  and  still  more  so  when  some  of  them 
appeared  fully  mounted  in  his  immediate  front.  In 
quiry  soon  developed  the  fact  that  the  village  of  Black 
Kettle,  which  he  had  captured,  was  located  the  highest 
up  on  the  stream,  while  below  it,  in  succession,  a  mile 
or  two  apart  and  within  less  than  ten  miles,  were  lo 
cated  the  villages  of  all  the  hostile  tribes  of  the  South 
ern  plains,  including  other  bands  of  Cheyenne,  Ara- 
pahoes,  Kiowas,  Comanches,  and  even  some  of  the 
Apaches.  Reforming  his  command  as  rapidly  as  he 
could  get  the  detachments  together,  he  prepared  for 
an  attack  of  the  Indians  in  force.  It  soon  came,  but, 
forming  his  men  on  foot  in  a  circle  within  the  village, 
he  was  able  to  successfully  repel  it.  His  quartermaster, 
Major  Bell,  fearing  he  might  need  ammunition,  had 
taken  a  small  escort  from  the  train  and  pushed  through 
with  it,  arriving  just  in  time  to  be  of  the  greatest  serv 
ice. 

Custer  now  proceeded  to  destroy  the  village,  burn- 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  247 

ing  it  with  all  its  supplies.  Then,  mounting  his  troops, 
he  attacked  and  drove  back  the  assailing  Indians.  He 
had  captured  Black  Kettle's  herd  of  eight  hundred  and 
seventy-five  ponies,  but  now  realized  that  he  could  not 
safely  get  them  back  to  Camp  Supply,  so,  after  taking 
what  were  needed  to  mount  the  captive  women  and 
children,  he  ordered  the  rest  shot.  He  now  prepared 
to  make  his  way  back,  but  on  assembling  his  command 
Major  Elliott  and  fourteen  enlisted  men  were  missing. 
When  last  seen  Elliott  was  in  close  pursuit  of  a  small 
party  of  Indians,  but  notwithstanding  searching  par 
ties  were  sent  as  far  as  was  safe  to  send  them  nothing 
could  be  found  of  the  major  and  his  men.  Perhaps, 
however,  the  fate  of  Major  Elliott  and  his  party,  con 
sisting  of  Sergeant-Ma j or  Kennedy,  three  corporals, 
and  ten  privates  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  may  as  well 
be  recorded  here  as  elsewhere,  although  nothing  posi 
tive  was  known  of  their  fate  until  the  10th  of  the  fol 
lowing  December. 

I  quote  from  General  Custer's  report:  "  The  bodies 
of  Elliott  and  his  little  band,  with  but  a  single  excep 
tion,  were  found  lying  within  a  circle  not  exceeding 
twenty  yards  in  diameter.  We  found  them  exactly  as 
they  fell,  except  that  their  barbarous  foe  had  stripped 
and  mutilated  the  bodies  in  the  most  savage  manner. 
...  No  words  were  needed  to  tell  how  desperate  had 
been  the  struggle  before  they  were  finally  over 
whelmed."  Mounting  his  whole  force  and  throwing 
forward  his  flankers  and  skirmishers,  Custer  boldly,  with 
colours  flying  and  his  band  playing,  moved  directly  to 
ward  the  large  body  of  mounted  Indians  who  now  con 
fronted  him  and  directly  down  the  river  toward  their 
camps.  In  a  few  moments  they  broke  wildly  in  the 


248  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

direction  of  their  villages,  evidently  thinking  that  Cus- 
ter  must  be  the  advance  guard  of  a  much  larger  force. 
This  was  exactly  the  impression  he  wished  to  produce; 
so  about  dark  he  retraced  his  course,  passed  through 
the  burned  village,  and  took  up  his  old  trail  for  Camp 
Supply,  which  he  reached  with  all  his  prisoners  in  due 
time  without  further  notable  incident.  In  this  action 
we  lost  two  fine  officers,  Major  Elliott  and  Captain 
Hamilton,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  and  nineteen  en 
listed  men  killed,  and  had  three  officers  and  eleven  en 
listed  men  wounded.  The  Indians  lost  two  of  their 
chiefs,  Black  Kettle  and  Little  Eock,  and  one  hundred 
and  one  warriors  killed,  besides  their  wounded.  But  by 
far  the  best  result  of  this  expedition  was  that  it  taught 
the  Indians  that  winter's  ice  and  snow  no  longer  meant 
rest  and  safety  for  them  after  a  summer's  bloody  raid 
upon  the  frontier  settlements. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE  CLOSE   OF   THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF     1868-'69    AND 
THE   PUNISHMENT   OF   THE   PIEGANS. 

No  sooner  had  General  Custer  returned  to  Camp 
Supply  from  his  battle  on  the  Washita  than  General 
Sheridan  determined  on  a  second  winter's  stroke  at  the 
savages.  But  as  soon  as  the  report  of  this  attack  upon 
the  winter  camp  of  the  Indians  in  zero  weather  reached 
the  East  the  humanitarians  seemed  to  go  wild  over  it, 
and  through  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and  Congress,  with 
out  pausing  for  a  moment  to  inquire  into  the  military 
necessity  that  demanded  it  nor  the  justice  that  sanc 
tioned  it,  they  proceeded  bitterly  to  assail  General 
Sheridan,  the  army,  and  the  War  Department,  alleging 
that  the  campaign  was  made  solely  that  the  army  might 
have  an  excuse  for  its  being,  never  seeming  to  realize 
that  the  Indians  had  brought  the  trouble  upon  them 
selves  by  a  series  of  unprovoked  murders  and  outrages 
upon  the  frontiersmen  and  their  families  almost  pass 
ing  the  bounds  of  mortal  endurance. 

General  Sheridan,  however,  said  little  or  nothing  at 
the  time,  but  unhesitatingly  continued  his  movements. 
In  his  first  report,  however,  of  his  winter's  operations 
he  struck  back  rather  savagely  at  his  Eastern  assailants, 
and  as  this  official  report  to  the  commanding  general  of 

249 


250  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  army  not  only  outlines  with  sketchy  distinctness  his 
winter's  campaign,  but  gives  his  reasons  for  it,  without 
glossing  over  the  actions  of  the  Indians  that  occasioned 
it,  I  shall  quote  directly  from  it,  believing  that  the  mass 
of  our  people  have  little  or  no  knowledge  of  the  actual 
brutality  of  the  Indians  of  the  great  plains: 

"HEADQUARTERS   MILITARY    DIVISION   OF   THE    MISSOURI, 

"CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  1,  1869. 

"  GENERAL:  I  have  the  honour  to  submit  for  your 
information  the  following  report  of  military  operations 
in  the  Department  of  Missouri  from  October  15,  1868, 
to  March  27,  1869.  In  my  annual  report  of  last  year, 
and  in  a  special  report  made  previously,  I  gave  details 
of  the  murderous  outbreak  and  massacre  of  defenceless 
frontier  citizens  by  that  class  of  our  people  known  as 
Indians. 

"  The  Indians  have  run  riot  along  the  lines  of  our 
Western  settlements  and  the  emigrant  and  commercial 
lines  of  travel  for  many  years,  murdering  and  plunder 
ing,  without  any  adequate  punishment,  and  the  Gov 
ernment  has  heretofore  sought  to  give  protection  to 
some  of  its  best  interests  by  making  presents  to  these 
savages;  or,  in  other  words,  while  it  found  it  necessary 
to  enact  the  most  stringent  laws  for  the  government  of 
civilized  whites,  it  was  attempting  to  govern  a  wild, 
brutal,  and  savage  people  without  any  laws  at  all. 

"  The  experience  of  many  years  of  this  character  of 
Indian  depredations,  with  security  to  themselves  and 
families  in  the  winter,  had  made  them  very  confident 
and  bold;  especially  was  this  true  of  the  previous  sum 
mer  and  winter.  So  boldly  had  this  system  of  murder 
and  robbery  been  carried  on  that  not  less  than  eight 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  251 

hundred  people  had  been  murdered  since  June,  1862 — 
men,  women,  and  children.  To  disabuse  the  minds  of 
the  savages  of  this  confident  security,  and  to  strike  them 
at  a  period  at  which  they  were  the  most  if  not  entirely 
helpless,  became  a  necessity,  and  the  general  in  chief 
then  in  command  of  this  division  authorized  a  winter 
campaign,  and  at  or  about  the  same  time  directed  that 
the  reservation  set  apart  for  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches 
at  the  Witchita  Mountains  should  be  considered  a  place 
of  refuge,  where,  if  the  savages  would  go  and  submit, 
they  would  be  exempt  from  the  operations  of  the 
troops. 

"  The  blow  that  Ouster  had  struck  was  a  hard  one, 
and  fell  on  the  guiltiest  of  all  the  bands — that  of  Black 
Kettle.  It  was  this  band  that,  without  provocation,  had 
massacred  the  settlers  on  the  Saline  and  Solomon,  and 
perpetrated  cruelties  too  fiendish  for  recital. 

"  He  was  also  with  the  band  on  Walnut  Creek,  where 
they  made  their  medicine  or  held  their  devilish  in 
cantations  previous  to  the  party  setting  out  to  massacre 
the  settlers.  I  subjoin  here  the  affidavit  of  Edmund 
Guerriere,  an  educated  half-breed  and  an  intelligent 
man,  who  was  with  the  tribe  at  the  time,  showing  that 
the  men  of  this  very  band  were  the  leaders  of  the  mas 
sacre  and  instigators  of  the  war: 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 
"!N  THE  FIELD,  MEDICINE  BLUFF  CREEK, 

"  WITCHITA  MOUNTAINS,  February  9, 1869. 
"  Personally  appeared   before   me,  Edmund   Guerriere,  who 
resides  on  the  Purgatoire  River,  Colorado  Territory,  who,  being 
duly  sworn,  testifies  as  follows  : 

"  I  was  with  the  Cheyenne  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  massa 
cre  on  the  Solomon  and  Saline  Rivers,  in  Kansas,  the  early  part 


252  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

or  middle  of  last  August,  and  I  was  living  at  this  time  with  Lit 
tle  Rock's  band. 

"  The  war  party  who  started  for  the  Solomon  and  Saline  was 
Little  Rock's,  Black  Kettle's,  Medicine  Arrow's,  and  Bull  Bear's 
bands  ;  and,  as  near  as  I  can  remember,  nearly  all  the  different 
bands  of  Cheyennes  had  some  of  their  young  men  in  this  war 
party  which  committed  the  outrages  and  murders  on  the  Solo 
mon  and  Saline.  Red  Nose  and  The-man-who-breaks-the-mar- 
row-bones  (Ho-eh-a-mo-a-hce)  were  the  two  leaders  in  this  mas 
sacre,  the  former  belonging  to  the  Dog  Soldiers  and  the  latter  to 
Black  Kettle's  band.  As  soon  as  we  heard  the  news  by  runners, 
who  came  on  ahead  to  Black  Kettle,  saying  that  they  had  already 
commenced  fighting,  we  moved  from  our  camp  on  Buckner's 
Fork  of  the  Pawnee,  near  its  head  waters,  down  to  North  Fork, 
where  we  met  Big  Jake's  band,  and  then  moved  south  across  the 
Arkansas  River  ;  and  when  we  got  to  the  Cimarron,  George  Bent 
and  I  left  them,  and  went  to  our  homes  on  the  Purgatoire. 

"EDMUND  GUERIERRE. 
"  Witness: 

"  J.  SCHUYLER  CROSBY, 
"  Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  U.  S.  A.,  Aide-de-Camp. 

"  There  was  no  provocation  on  the  part  of  the 
whites  or  of  the  Government  to  justify  the  Indians  in 
commencing  hostilities,  except  an  allegation  that  the 
agent  would  not  deliver  guns  and  ammunition  to  the 
tribe;  and  it  is  time  that  the  Indians  should  know  that 
any  act  of  the  Government  or  people  will  not  justify 
murder,  rape,  and  pillage. 

"We  found  in  Black  Kettle's  village  photographs 
and  daguerreotypes,  clothing,  and  bedding,  from  the 
houses  of  the  persons  massacred  on  the  Solomon  and 
Saline.  The  mail  which  I  had  sent  by  the  expressmen, 
Nat  Marshal  and  Bill  Davis,  from  Bluff  Creek  to  Fort 
Dodge,  who  were  murdered  and  mutilated,  was  likewise 
found;  also  a  large  blank  book,  with  Indian  illustra 
tions  of  the  different  fights  which  Black  Kettle's  band 
had  been  engaged  in,  especially  about  Fort  Wallace  and 


CLOSE  OP  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  253 

on  the  line  of  the  Denver  stages;  showing  when  the 
fight  had  been  with  the  coloured  troops — when  with 
white;  also,  when  trains  had  been  captured  and  women 
killed  in  wagons.  Still  a  hue  and  cry  was  raised, 
through  the  influence  of  the  Indian  ring,  in  which  some 
good  and  pious  ecclesiastics  took  part,  and  became  the 
aiders  and  abettors  of  savages  who  murdered,  without 
mercy,  men,  women,  and  children;  in  all  cases  ravishing 
the  women,  sometimes  as  often  as  forty  and  fifty  times 
in  succession,  and  while  insensible  from  brutality  and 
exhaustion  forced  sticks  up  their  persons,  and,  in  one 
instance,  the  fortieth  or  fiftieth  savage  drew  his  sabre 
and  used  it  on  the  person  of  the  woman  in  the  same 
manner.  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  far  these  hu 
manitarians  should  be  excused  on  account  of  their 
ignorance,  but  surely  it  is  the  only  excuse  that  gives 
a  shadow  of  justification  for  aiding  and  abetting  such 
horrid  crimes. 

"  Although  Ouster  had  struck  a  hard  blow,  and 
wiped  out  old  Black  Kettle  and  his  murderers  and  rapers 
of  helpless  women,  I  did  not  feel  that  our  work  was 
done  yet,  but  desired  that  the  Indians  should  see  fully 
how  helpless  they  were  even  at  this  season,  when  the 
Government  was  in  earnest.  So  on  the  7th  of  De 
cember,  after  getting  the  Kansas  regiment  as  well 
set  up  as  possible,  we  moved  toward  the  head  waters 
of  the  Washita,  with  thirty  days'  rations  for  the 
men  and  about  one  quarter  rations  of  forage  for  the 
animals. 

"  The  snow  was  still  on  the  ground  and  the  weather 
very  cold,  but  the  officers  and  men  were  cheerful,  al 
though  the  men  had  only  shelter  tents.  We  moved 
due  south  until  we  struck  the  Washita,  near  Ouster's 
fight  of  November  27th,  having  crossed  the  main  Ca 
nadian  with  the  thermometer  about  eighteen  degrees 
below  zero." 


THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

It  is  reasonably  safe  to  say  that  campaigning  in 
weather  eighteen  degrees  below  zero  is  not  apt  to  be 
undertaken  save  and  only  from  stern  necessity. 

"  After  reaching  the  Washita,  my  intention  was  to 
take  up  the  trail  of  the  Indians  and  follow  it.  We 
rested  one  day  and  made  an  examination  of  the  ground; 
found  the  bodies  of  Major  Elliott  and  his  small  party, 
and  examined  the  Indian  camps  or  villages  which  had 
been  abandoned  when  General  Custer  struck  Black 
Kettle's  band.  They  extended  about  twelve  or  thirteen 
miles  down  the  river,  and  from  the  appearance  of  things 
they  had  fled  in  the  greatest  haste,  abandoning  pro 
visions,  robes,  cooking  utensils,  and  every  species  of 
property,  and  it  appeared  to  me  they  must  have  at  last 
begun  to  realize  that  winter  was  not  going  to  give  them 
security. 

"  On  the  next  day  we  started  down  the  Washita, 
following  the  Indian  trail;  but  finding  so  many  deep 
ravines  and  canons,  I  thought  we  would  move  out  on 
the  divide;  but  a  blinding  snowstorm  coming  on,  and 
fearing  to  get  lost  with  a  large  command  and  trains 
of  wagons  on  a  treeless  prairie  without  water,  we  were 
forced  back  to  the  banks  of  the  Washita,  where  we  at 
least  could  get  wood  and  water.  Next  day  we  contin 
ued  down  the  river,  following  the  trail  of  the  Indians, 
and  crossed  numerous  ravines  by  digging  and  bridging 
with  pioneer  parties.  This  was  continued  until  the 
evening  of  the  16th  [December],  when  we  came  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Indians — principally  Kiowas.  They  did 
not  dream  that  any  soldiers  could  operate  in  such  cold 
and  inclement  weather,  and  we  marched  down  on  them 
before  they  knew  of  our  presence  in  the  country;  after 
night  they  saw  our  fires,  and  by  means  of  relays  com 
municated  with  General  Ilazen,  and  obtained  a  letter 
from  him  saying  that  the  Kiowas  were  friendly.  I  had 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  255 

just  followed  their  trail  from  Ouster's  battlefield,  and 
a  portion  of  this  band  had  just  come  from  Texas,  where 
they  had  murdered  and  plundered  in  the  most  barba 
rous  manner;  while  in  the  previous  spring  their  outrages 
on  the  Texas  border  are  too  horrible  to  relate,  one  item 
of  which  is  that,  in  returning  to  their  villages,  fourteen 
of  the  poor  little  captive  children  were  frozen  to  death. 

"  The  Cheyennes  broke  their  promise  and  did  not 
come  in,  so  I  ordered  General  Ouster  to  move  against 
them;  this  he  did,  and  came  on  the  Cheyennes  on  the 
head  waters  of  Eed  River,  apparently  moving  north;  it 
is  possible  they  were  on  their  way  to  Camp  Supply,  as 
in  some  of  the  conversations  I  had  with  Little  Robe  I 
had  declared  that  if  they  did  not  get  into  the  Fort 
Cobb  reservation  within  a  certain  time  they  would  not 
be  received  there,  but  would  be  received  at  Camp  Sup 
ply;  this  was  because  I  expected  to  stay  only  for  a  lim 
ited  time  at  Fort  Cobb,  intending  to  return  to  Camp 
Supply. 

"  Custer  found  them  in  a  very  forlorn  condition, 
and  could  have  destroyed,  I  think,  most  of  the  tribe, 
certainly  their  villages,  but  contented  himself  with  tak 
ing  their  renewed  promise  to  come  into  Camp  Supply, 
and  obtained  from  them  two  \vhite  women  whom  they 
held  as  captives.  The  most  of  the  tribe  fulfilled  this 
latter  promise  so  far  as  coming  into  the  vicinity  of 
Camp  Supply  and  communicating  with  the  command 
ing  officer;  but  Tall  Bull's  band  again  violated  the 
promise  made,  and  went  north  to  the  Republican, 
where  he  joined  a  party  of  Sioux,  who,  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1869,  were  attacked  and  defeated  with  heavy  loss, 
whereupon  the  whole  tribe  moved  into  Camp  Supply. 

"Meantime,  while  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes 
were  negotiating  with  me  to  surrender,  the  Quahrada 
or  Staked  Plains  Comanches  sent  a  delegation  over  to 


256  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Bascom,  offering  to  surrender  themselves,  under  the 
expectation,  perhaps,  that  they  could  get  better  terms 
there  than  with  me;  but  General  Getty  arrested  the 
delegation,  which  was  ordered  to  Fort  Leavenworth, 
and  finally  returned  to  their  people  on  condition  that 
they  would  deliver  themselves  up  on  the  reservation  at 
Medicine  Bluff  or  Fort  Sill.  This  \vas  complied  with, 
and  I  am  now  able  to  report  that  there  has  been  a  ful 
filment  of  all  the  conditions  which  we  had  in  view 
when  we  commenced  our  winter's  campaign  last  No 
vember — namely,  punishment  was  inflicted;  property 
destroyed;  the  Indians  disabused  of  the  idea  that  winter 
would  bring  security;  and  all  the  tribes  south  of  the 
Platte  forced  on  to  the  reservations  set  apart  for  them 
by  the  Government,  where  they  are  in  a  tangible  shape 
for  the  good  work  of  civilization,  education,  and  reli 
gious  instruction. 

"  I  can  not  speak  too  highly  of  the  patient  and 
cheerful  conduct  of  the  troops  under  my  command; 
they  were  many  times  pinched  by  hunger  and  numbed 
by  cold,  sometimes  living  in  holes  below  the  surface  of 
the  prairie — dug  to  keep  them  from  freezing;  at  other 
times  pursuing  the  savages,  and  living  on  the  flesh  of 
mules.  In  all  these  trying  conditions  the  troops  were 
always  cheerful  and  willing,  and  the  officers  full  of 
esprit. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"  Lieutenant  General. 
"  General  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

"  General  in  Chief  of  the  Army,  Washington,  D.  C." 

I  have  only  quoted  from  the  report  extracts  enough 
to  give  the  reader  a  general  idea  of  this  Indian  war  and 
what  caused  it,  and  of  some  of  the  hardships  incident  to 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1868-'69.  257 

a  winter's  campaign  against  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the 
final  outcome  of  this  one  of  1868  and  1869.  There  was 
also  a  great  deal  of  hard  work  and  some  sharp  fighting 
by  smaller  bodies  of  troops  north  of  the  Canadian  Eiver 
before  the  Indians  were  finally  forced  on  to  their  reser 
vations,  but  sufficient  has  been  written  and  quoted  to 
give  the  reflective  reader  food  for  thought  as  to  whether 
the  frontiersman  has  not  sometimes  had  good  cause 
for  his  hate  of  the  Indian. 

The  punishment  of  the  marauding  Indians  south  of 
the  Platte  River  did  not,  however,  deter  or  intimidate 
those  in  the  far  North.  Certain  bands  of  the  Blackfeet 
Indians  living  in  the  extreme  northern  or  almost  un 
settled  districts  of  the  Territory  of  Montana  had  during 
the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  close  of  the  civil 
war — that  is  to  say,  from  1865  to  1869 — for  three  suc 
cessive  years  raided  the  thinly  settled  upper  portion  of 
the  Gallatin  Valley,  killed  the  frontiersmen,  murdered 
or  carried  off  their  wives  and  little  children,  burned 
their  ranches,  and  then,  driving  their  horses  and  cattle 
before  them,  escaped  through  the  mountain  passes  of 
the  Little  Belt  Range  to  the  borders  of  the  British  pos 
sessions  hours  before  word  could  be  sent  to  the  nearest 
villages  or  any  hastily  organized  pursuit  could  be  made 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  inlying  settlements  that  could, 
or  at  any  time  did,  succeed  in  accomplishing  anything 
in  the  way  of  rescue  or  reprisals.  One  great  trouble 
that  prevented  the  troops  from  accomplishing  anything 
was  the  fact  that  it  was  generally  days  before  the  news 
of  the  raid  reached  them,  and  unfortunately  at  that 
time  we  did  not  have  any  cavalry  stationed  on  that 
section  of  our  frontier. 

These  raids  were  made  by  two  bands  of  the  Black- 


258  ME  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

feet  known  as  Piegans  and  Bloods,  and  it  is  to  be  sup 
posed  that  the  commanding  general  of  the  department 
(Major-General  W.  S.  Hancock)  debited  them  in  full 
for  what  they  had  at  various  times  succeeded  in  accom 
plishing  in  the  hope  that  on  some  future  day  he  might 
be  able  to  force  a  complete  settlement  of  the  account. 

In  the  summer  of  1869  a  battalion  of  four  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  was  sent  for  service  in  Montana 
and  stationed  at  Fort  Ellis.  Midwinter  was  the  time 
decided  upon  for  a  blow  at  the  Piegans  and  Major 
E.  M.  Baker  was  the  officer  selected  to  command  the 
expedition.  The  utmost  secrecy  was  preserved  in  re 
gard  to  the  movement,  and  when  the  troops  started 
from  Fort  Ellis  on  the  6th  of  January,  1870,  with 
the  thermometer  at  ten  degrees  below  zero,  only  the 
senior  officers  of  the  command  were  aware  of  their  des 
tination.  At  Fort  Shaw  they  were  joined  by  fifty 
mounted  infantry  and  one  company  of  infantry  as  a 
train  guard,  and  then  the  united  command  plodded 
on  up  through  the  mountain  passes,  breaking  trail 
through  deep  snows  with  the  thermometer  ranging 
from  ten  to  forty  degrees  below  zero,  hunting  for  the 
winter  camps  of  the  Piegans  and  Bloods,  which  they 
knew  were  somewhere  near  the  line  of  the  British  pos 
sessions. 

On  the  22d  of  January  the  scouts  located  the  camp 
of  the  Piegans,  which  was,  as  they  had  supposed  it 
would  be,  located  in  a  gorge  of  the  Marias  River,  near 
the  British  line.  The  weather  was  intensely  bitter, 
but  the  command  marched  nearly  all  that  night  and 
halted  just  before  daylight  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the 
Indian  village.  It  was  so  very  cold  that  the  savages  had 
neglected  to  put  out  even  a  vedette,  and  so  just  at  day- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOTTX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  259 

light  the  troops  dashed  in  upon  them,  effecting  a  com 
plete  surprise,  for  they  had  not  deemed  it  possible  that 
our  soldiers  could  move  in  such  weather.  There  was 
little  or  no  time  for  defence;  our  troops  were  in  and 
through  the  village  almost  before  the  Indians  were  fair 
ly  awake,  so  although  some  of  them  sprang  to  arms 
and  made  for  a  few  moments  something  of  a  stand, 
the  whole  band  soon  stampeded,  for,  knowing  their 
guilt,  they  were  wild  with  terror,  breaking  from  their 
tepees  and  flying  in  all  directions,  the  soldiers  riding 
over  and  shooting  them  down  wherever  they  could  over 
take  them.  Our  loss  was  comparatively  very  little,  two 
or  three  killed  and  about  twenty  wounded,  while  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  of  the  Piegans  lay  dead  on 
the  field.  It  was  an  awful  retribution,  but  the  Piegans 
had  brought  it  on  themselves.  The  women  and  chil 
dren  who  were  captured  were  turned  loose,  as  there  was 
no  way  of  bringing  them  into  any  of  our  posts.  Over 
three  hundred  captured  horses  were  brought  to  Fort 
Shaw,  and  many  of  them  returned  to  their  former  own 
ers  from  whom  the  Piegans  had  stolen  them.  General 
Hancock,  in  his  report  of  this  affair,  says: 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  attack  on  the 
camp  some  women  and  children  were  accidentally 
killed.  As  is  well  known  to  all  acquainted  with  Indian 
fighting  a  certain  proportion  of  accidental  killing  will 
always  occur  in  affairs  of  this  kind,  especially  when  the 
attack  is  made  in  the  dim  light  of  early  morning,,  and 
when  it  is  a  necessary  element  of  success  to  fire  into 
the  lodges  at  the  outset  to  drive  the  Indians  out  to  an 
open  contest.  It  is  believed  that  not  a  single  woman 
or  child  was  killed  by  our  own  people  outside  of  the 
lodges,  although,  us  is  also  well  known,  a  good  many 


260  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  the  women  on  such  occasions  fight  with  and  as  well 
as  the  men. 

"  As  much  obloquy  was  heaped  upon  Major  Baker, 
his  officers,  and  men,  owing  to  the  exaggerations  and 
misstatements  published  in  relation  to  the  number  of 
women  and  children  killed,  I  think  it  only  justice  to 
him  and  his  command  that  the  truth  should  be  made 
fully  known  to  the  public."  (It  was  said  over  one  hun 
dred  women  and  children  were  killed.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  less  than  forty  were  killed  by  the  volley  firing  of 
the  troops,  as  they  fired  into  the  tepees  to  drive  the 
warriors  out  on  the  opening  of  the  action.)  "  Recol 
lecting  the  season  of  the  year  in  which  the  expedition 
was  made,  the  terrible  cold  through  which  it  marched 
day  after  day  (forty  degrees  below  zero),  and  the  spirit 
with  which  the  troops  engaged  an  enemy  which  they 
deemed  as  strong  as  themselves,  I  think  the  command 
is  entitled  to  the  especial  commendation  of  the  mili 
tary  authorities  and  the  thanks  of  the  nation.  At  all 
events,  the  lesson  administered  to  the  Indians  has  been 
salutary  in  its  effects,  and  highly  beneficial  to  the  in- 
interests  of  Montana.  I  predict  it  will  be  a  long  time 
before  serious  trouble  may  be  again  apprehended  from 
the  Blackfeet." 

This  last  paragraph  from  General  Hancock's  pen 
was  written  in  1870.  The  splendid  soldier  who  wrote 
it  is  one  of  the  silent  majority,  but  in  the  light  of  the 
last  thirty  years  it  reads  like  prophecy.  Thirty  long 
years  have  passed  since  Major  Baker  struck  the  Piegans 
on  the  Marias  River,  but  the  Blackfeet  have  never 
again  attempted  a  raid  on  our  Montana  border. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE. 

THE  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  between  the  re 
public  of  Mexico  and  the  United  States  in  1848,  to 
gether  with  the  supplementary  one  in  1853.  generally 
known  as  the  Gadsden  purchase,,  by  which,  on  the  pay 
ment  of  ten  million  dollars,  our  Government  obtained 
that  part  of  modern  Arizona  south  of  the  Gila  River, 
not  only  gave  us  all  the  claim  Mexico  had  to  the  terri 
tory  mentioned,  but  incidentally  gave  us  a  quit  claim, 
so  far  as  the  Mexicans  could  do  so,  to  a  tribe  of  Indians 
called  Apaches. 

In  that  part  of  his  history  of  the  Pacific  slope 
relating  to  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  the  historian 
Mr.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft  says  that  "  nearly  all 
of  what  we  now  call  Arizona  has  no  other  history  be 
fore  1846  than  the  record  of  Spanish  and  Mexican 
exploring  entradas  [expeditions]  from  the  south  and 
east.  The  exception  is  the  small  tract  of  not  more 
than  sixty  miles  square  from  Tucson  southward."  The 
glory  of  discovering  this  territory  (Arizona)  must  be 
given  to  a  negro  and  a  Franciscan  friar  in  1539.  Ac 
cepting  this  statement,  we  have  a  starting  point  from 
which  to  date  our  knowledge  of  the  Apache  in  what  is 
known  as  Arizona,  and  we  find  him  to  have  been  quite 
a  difficult  factor  for  the  next  three  hundred  years  in 
18  261 


262  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

this  frontier  community  of  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  and 
Mexicans.  For  the  first  century  of  Spanish  occupation 
and  misrule  in  this  portion  of  what  is  to-day  the  state 
of  Sonora  in  Mexico  little  is  accurately  known.  That 
the  Spaniards  sent  several  exploring  expeditions  into 
this  newly  discovered  country  is  substantiated  by  Spanish 
records  showing  that  the  first  one  was  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Fray  Marcos  de  Niza  of  the  Franciscan  friars, 
who,  with  another  friar,  Onorato,  and  black  Estevan- 
cio,  together  with  some  native  Mexicans  from  Culiacan, 
set  out  from  San  Miguel  on  March  7,  1539,  to  explore 
this  (then)  unknown  country.  Onorato  fell  ill  and  was 
left  behind.  After  fifteen  days'  travel  they  came  to  a 
native  town  called  Vocapa.  There  the  friar  remained 
and  sent  forward  the  negro  Estevancio  to  explore.  He 
sent  back  glowing  reports  of  what  he  heard  of  the  Pueb 
lo  cities,  especially  of  the  city  of  Cibola.  On  or  about 
the  6th  of  April,  1539,  Father  Niza  set  out  after  his 
black  advance  guard,  and  in  five  or  six  days  came  to  a 
well-watered  settlement  near  the  borders  of  a  desert. 
Bancroft  says:  "  Between  Vocapa  and  this  place,  with 
out  much  doubt  they  had  crossed  wrhat  is  now  the 
southern  bound  of  Arizona."  Niza  pushed  on  steadily 
after  the  negro  Estevancio,  who  kept  straight  on  his 
way  for  Cibola,  but  on  reaching  the  town  Estevancio 
was  forbidden  to  enter,  and  soon  set  upon  and  killed. 
However,  Father  Niza  kept  on  until  he  was  in  sight  of 
Cibola,  and  there  erected  a  cross  on  a  heap  of  stones 
and  took  formal  possession  of  the  whole  country  in  the 
name  of  the  Spanish  Governor  Mendoza  for  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  then  hurried  back  to  proclaim  his  discov 
ery.  It  seems  thus  that  without  doubt  the  first  Euro 
pean  to  enter  Arizona  was  the  black  man  Stephen, 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  263 

or  Estevancio,  Father  Niza  being  a  close  second.  The 
occupation  of  this  country  in  1540-'50  by  the  Spanish 
soldier  Coronado  with  an  armed  exploring  party  and  its 
occupation  by  Spanish  troops  and  Spaniards  turned  out 
to  be  a  distinct  disappointment  as  far  as  their  finding 
great  wealth  among  the  Pueblo  Indians  was  concerned. 
About  1672  the  various  Apache  tribes  became  trou 
blesome,  destroying  in  their  raids  one  of  the  Zuni  towns 
and  six  of  the  pueblos.  In  1682,  in  the  civil  wars  and 
discords  under  the  Spanish,  "  the  Apaches  and  Yutes 
took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  renew  their  raids 
for  plunder/'  In  1684  a  force  of  fifty  Spaniards  and 
one  hundred  Indians  were  sent  against  a  rancJieria  of 
apostate  and  gentile  Apaches  to  kill  the  men  and  cap 
ture  the  women  and  children.  In  1698  it  appears  of 
record  that  the  French  almost  annihilated  a  Navajo 
force  of  four  thousand  men.  There  was  also  a  Spanish 
campaign  against  the  Faraon  Apaches,  but  it  was  futile, 
and  nothing  was  accomplished.  "  In  1755  depredations 
by  Apaches  were  frequent."  Again,  in  1750,  "  the  Na- 
vajo  conversion  was  a  failure."  Of  the  Yutes  and 
Apaches  we  know  nothing  definitely  except  that  in 
most  years  "  they  gave  trouble  in  one  way  or  another." 
From  1751  to  1756  "  the  Apaches  were  continuously 
troublesome,  and  many  expeditions  were  undertaken 
against  them,  .  .  .  but  only  a  few  are  recorded,  and 
those  very  meagrely.  .  .  .  The  only  success  achieved 
was  the  killing  of  a  few  warriors  and  the  capture  of 
some  women  and  children,  .  .  .  and  it  finally  came  to 
be  seriously  questioned  by  many  whether  these  cam 
paigns  were  of  the  slightest  advantage."  In  1786  Gen 
eral  Ugarte  introduced  a  radical  change  in  the  Apache 
Indian  policy.  The  Apaches  were  to  be  forced  by  an 


264  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

unceasing  Spanish  campaign  aided  by  friendly  Pima! 
and  Opata  Indians  to  accept  and  enter  into  a  treaty  of 
peace  never  before  permitted  with  that  nation.  If  they 
observed  its  requirements  they  were  to  be  kindly  treat 
ed,  furnished  with  certain  supplies,  encouraged  to  settle 
near  the  presidio,  ianglit  to  drink  intoxicating  liquors, 
and  to  depend  on  Spanish  friendship  for  their  needs. 
This  worked  fairly  wrell  under  the  management  of  the 
Franciscan  friars  for  nearly  or  quite  twenty  years,  or  as 
long  as  the  Spaniards  did  not  attempt  the  Apaches  en 
slavement,  and  then,  naturally,  the  treaty  went  to 
pieces,  and,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  the  Apaches 
again  took  to  the  war  path. 

From  1581  to  1840  both  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Mexicans  had  tried  to  subjugate  and  complete  the 
conquest  of  these  Indians  and  signally  failed.  For  a 
few  years  some  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  by  unvarying 
kindness,  sterling  integrity,  good  and  fair  treatment, 
unwearied  patience,  and  great  forbearance  did  actu 
ally  obtain  a  strong  hold  on  them  and  had  a  large 
part  of  the  tribe  well  started  on  the  road  toward 
Christianity.  Then  the  cupidity  of  the  miners,  the 
ranchmen,  and  the  small  local  governors  of  New  Spain, 
within  whose  districts  these  Indians  dwelt,  upset  and 
destroyed  all  the  work  of  the  fathers  in  an  attempt  to 
enslave  the  entire  tribe.  Baron  Humboldt  states  that 
the  Apaches  entered  upon  a  war  of  extermination  upon 
the  Spaniards  when  they  discovered  that  all  their  peo 
ple  captured  by  the  king's  troops  had  been  either  trans 
ported  to  Cuba  to  work  and  die  as  slaves  on  the  sugar 
plantations  or  else  sent  to  work  their  lives  out  in  the 
mines  of  Guanajuato.  From  that  time  the  hand  of  the 
Apache  was  against  both  the  Spaniard  and  the  Mexican 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  265 

and  opposed  to  civilization  as  well.  In  vain  were  troops 
sent  to  hunt  him  from  his  mountain  lair,  in  vain  were 
ambuscades  laid,  traps  set,  and  surprises  planned,  for 
the  Apache  was  ever  alert  and  could  not  be  taken  un 
awares,  and  furthermore  he  fought  only  where  success 
seemed  within  his  grasp.  Finally  the  Mexicans  de 
clared  him  an  outlaw  and  entered  upon  a  war  of  ex 
termination  against  him,  and  the  Mexican  states  of 
Sonora  and  Chihuahua  offered  a  standing  reward  of 
three  hundred  silver  dollars  for  each  and  every  scalp 
of  an  Apache  man,  woman,  or  child  that  should  be  de 
livered  at  certain  designated  army  posts,  and  actually 
entered  into  written  contract  with  several  desperate 
frontier  adventurers  for  the  furtherance  of  the  bloody 
work.  It  goes  without  saying  that  many  an  Apache 
scalp  eventually  found  its  way  to  the  stated  headquar 
ters  and  was  duly  paid  for,  but  for  every  individual 
Apache  scalp  taken,  whether  of  man,  woman,  or  child, 
it  is  reasonably  safe  to  aver  that  in  the  course  of  time 
more  than  threescore  Spaniards  or  Mexicans  bit  the 
dust,  for  the  Apache  was  ever  seeking  revenge,  and  was 
as  tireless  as  fate  in  its  pursuit.  Furthermore,  he  sent 
down  his  ancient  grudge  to  his  descendants,  who  gladly 
took  up  the  heritage  of  hate,  and  the  lapse  of  years 
and  the  passing  of  generations  failed  to  weaken  the 
Apache's  desire  for  revenge  or  sate  his  thirst  for  the 
blood  of  his  enemies. 

The  late  Major  John  G.  Bourke,  of  the  United 
States  army,  one  of  the  ablest  ethnologists  as  regards 
the  aborigines  of  this  country,  says:  *  "  In  the 

*  On  the  Border  with  Crook.  By  John  G.  Bourke,  Captain 
Third  Cavalry,  U.  S.  A.  New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1891. 
Page  114. 


rr -••<?.  \ 

;.«"?;..  I',  r   J 


266  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Apache  the  Spaniard,  whether  as  soldier  or  priest, 
found  a  foe  whom  no  artifice  could  terrify  into  sub 
mission,  whom  no  eloquence  could  wean  from  the  su 
perstition  of  his  ancestors.  Indifferent  to  the  bullets 
of  armor-clad  soldiers  and  serenely  insensible  to  the 
arguments  of  friar  and  priest,  who  claimed  spiritual  do 
minion  over  all  other  [Indian]  tribes,  the  naked  Apache 
with  no  weapon  save  his  bow  and  arrows,  lance,  war 
club,  knife,  and  shield,  roamed  over  a  vast  empire,  the 
lord  of  the  soil — fiercer  than  the  fiercest  of  tigers, 
wilder  than  the  wild  coyote  he  called  his  brother."  His 
habitat,  over  which  he  swept  almost  at  will  in  defiance 
of  the  Spaniards  and  Mexicans  for  over  two  hundred 
years,  included  the  Mexican  states  of  Sonora  and  Chi 
huahua,  the  western  portion  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and 
the  Territories  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  an  area 
greater  than  that  of  France  and  the  German  Empire 
combined.  It  is  but  scant  justice  to  say  that  when  the 
United  States  first  obtained  possession  of  the  Terri 
tories  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  which  were  occupied 
by  certain  Apache  bands,  that,  so  far  as  the  record 
shows,  they  were  not  unfriendly  and  seemed  disposed  to 
live  peaceably  with  our  people,  and  it  was  a  most 
wanton,  brutal,  and  unprovoked  murder  of  an  Apache 
warrior  by  a  Mexican  teamster  who  was  employed  by 
the  United  States  commissioner,  a  Mr.  Bartlett,  who 
deliberately  and  wilfully  shot  an  Apache  warrior 
dead  without  the  slightest  excuse,  that  was  the  origin 
of  our  Apache  wars.  Even  then  the  Apache  chiefs 
made  no  attempt  at  reprisals,  but  appealed  to  the  com 
missioner  for  justice,  and  patiently  awaited  his  decision. 
For  this  unprovoked,  wilful,  and  deliberate  murder 
Commissioner  Bartlett  thought  a  fine  of  thirty  dollars, 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  267 

to  be  retained  in  monthly  instalments  from  the  team 
ster's  pay  and  turned  over  to  the  warrior's  family,  was 
sufficient  compensation.  Forty-eight  hours  after  the 
promulgation  of  Bartlett's  decision  the  Apaches  swept 
the  whole  Arizona  frontier,  burning  and  killing  wher 
ever  they  could  find  a  settler's  ranch,  an  isolated  trav 
eller,  or  a  group  of  prospecting  miners,  and  the  fire- 
blackened  and  desolated  border  for  hundreds  of  miles 
established  the  fact  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  tribe 
an  Apache  warrior's  life  was  worth  decidedly  more  to 
them  than  thirty  dollars.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  say  what  the  result  would  have  been  if  Mr.  Bartlett 
had  shown  the  nerve  and  keen  sense  of  justice  to  im 
panel  a  border  jury,  try  the  teamster,  and  if  he  was  con 
victed  have  executed  him;  but  it  is  among  the  possi 
bilities  that  such  action  upon  his  part  might  have  saved 
us  years  of  border  warfare  and  the  lives  of  hundreds  of 
frontiersmen  and  their  families,  to  say  nothing  of  many 
of  our  best  and  bravest  soldiers  as  well  as  millions  of 
Government  treasure. 

The  Apaches  are  of  two  distinct  types.  Some  of 
of  them  are  tall,  slight,  exceedingly  well  formed,  with 
aquiline  noses,  long  heads,  well-rounded  chins,  well- 
shaped  lips,  firm  mouths,  and  bold  flashing  eyes.  Oth 
ers  are  short,  with  broad  shoulders,  deep  chest,  flat 
broad  noses,  with  open  nostrils,  small  keen  dark  eyes, 
thin  lips,  stern  mouth  with  projecting  chin,  and  with 
the  skull  flattened  behind  the  ears.  They  all  have  well- 
developed  and  most  muscular  legs  and  rather  small 
feet.  All  of  the  male  Apaches  whom  I  have  met  have 
cruel  faces,  and  the  determined  mouth  shows  that  no 
mercy  need  be  expected  by  his  enemies.  The  Apache 
is  an  able  soldier,  in  that  he  never  takes  an  unneces- 


268  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

sary  risk  if  he  can  avoid  it,  and  never  lets  his  passion 
get  the  better  of  his  good  judgment;  is  patient,  per 
severing,  tireless,  abstemious,  and  can  subsist  and  make 
available  for  food  material  upon  which  not  only  the 
Caucasian,  but  the  ordinary  American  plains  Indian 
would  surely  starve.  No  enemy  can  conceal  a  trail  so 
that  he  will  not  discover  and  follow  it,  and  when  the 
knows  that  he  is  pursued  he  covers  his  own  trail  so 
that  only  another  Apache  can  discover  and  trace  it. 
In  a  few  words  the  case  of  the  Apache  may  be 
summed  lip  thus:  He  was  an  Indian  mountaineer  with 
the  average  mountaineer's  love  of  personal  liberty,  and 
undoubtedly  with  all  the  good  and  bad  qualities  of  one  of 
the  best  specimens  of  the  North  American  aborigine,  but 
the  persistent  attempts  of  the  Spaniards  and  Mexicans 
for  more  than  two  hundred  years  to  enslave  him  devel 
oped  his  worst  qualities,  and  eventually  as  the  Indian 
Ishmaelite  with  the  hand  of  civilization  against  him  he 
became  an  Indian  bandit  with  his  hand  against  civ 
ilization,  and,  in  the  words  of  the  late  General  George 
Crook,  he  developed  into  the  human  tiger,  and  as  such 
we  fell  heir  to  him.  Major  Bourke  thinks  that  the 
Apache  is  the  southernmost  member  of  the  great  Tin- 
neh  family,  which  originally  stretched  across  the  cir- 
cumpolar  portion  of  the  American  continent  from  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  western  line  of  Hudson  Bay, 
and  this  family — the  Tinneh — are  still,  and  always  have 
been,  the  ablest  of  the  American  Indian  tribes,  and 
wherever  they  have  come  in  contact  with  other  of  the 
Southern  Indian  tribes  they  have  invariably,  sooner  or 
later,  obtained  control  over  them  owing  to  their  diplo 
matic  astuteness,  personal  daring,  and  their  incessant 
and  unwearying  work  to  gain  the  ascendency.  In  a 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  269 

report  of  Father  Benavides  to  the  King  of  Spain,  dated 
at  Madrid  in  1630  and  written  on  the  priest's  return 
from  New  Spain  (Mexico),  he  says  of  these  Indians, 
classified  as  "Apaches  de  Xila  (Gila),  Apaches  de  Na- 
vajo,  and  Apaches  Vaqueros,"  that  they  had  caused  no 
serious  disturbance,  and  in  the  Xila  (Gila)  province, 
where  he  (Benavides)  had  been  a  missionary  working 
with  much  success  as  well  as  among  the  Apaches  de 
Navajo,  everything  was  then  at  peace.  This  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  1630,  and  two  hundred  and  fif 
teen  years  later,  in  1848,  we  fell  heir  to  the  Apache,  and 
as  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  slowly  fell 
in  line  with  the  advance  guard  of  civilization,  in  order 
to  protect  our  settlers  and  prevent  their  being  anni 
hilated  or  else  driven  from  the  country,  our  army  was 
compelled  to  take  up  the  task  the  Spaniards  and  Mexi 
cans  had  laid  down,  and  to  enter  on  a  campaign  having 
for  its  object  the  subjugation  of  the  untamed  Apache. 
A  campaign  against  the  Apaches  in  their  eyrie  fast 
nesses  among  the  ragged  Sierra  Madres  could  but  be 
a  series  of  detached  fights.  In  fact,  for  many  years 
and  until  the  various  bands  of  the  whole  tribe  were 
finally  rounded  up,  that  was  all  there  was  to  it,  but  it 
involved  nearly  twenty  years'  heartbreaking  work,  ex 
hausting  privation,  bitter  disappointment,  and  the  loss 
of  many  a  gallant  soldier,  and  was  eventually  accom 
plished  only  when  our  own  troops,  by  persistent  en 
deavour  and  repeated  scouts,  had  mastered  the  general 
trend  of  valley,  stream,  and  canon,  learned  the  loca 
tion  of  the  few  water  holes  in  the  beds  of  the  dry  water 
courses,  the  rare  springs  in  the  hills,  and  the  isolated 
passes  through  the  unexplored  mountain  ranges,  to 
gether  with  the  stern  fact  that  a  trail  once  discovered 


270  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

must  never  be  abandoned,  but  doggedly  hung  to  and 
searched  out,  hour  by  hour,  day  by  day,  week  by  week, 
until  their  quarry  was  run  to  earth  and  compelled  to 
turn  and  fight,  or  on  very  rare  occasions  cornered  and 
obliged  to  fight  to  a  surrender  or  annihilation. 

Trailing  the  Apache  when  he  had  covered  his  trail 
was  practically  an  impossibility  to  white  men,  but  Gen 
eral  George  Crook,  who  was,  without  doubt,  one  of  the 
very  best  and  ablest  Indian  campaigners  our  Govern 
ment  has  ever  had,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
absolutely  just  and  true  friends  the  Indian  has  ever 
known,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Department  of  Arizona  adopted  and  put  in  practice  a 
new  course  toward  this  people.  First,  he  personally 
went  over  the  country  and  obtained  all  possible  knowl 
edge  of  it  and  of  the  Apaches.  Then,  by  guaranteeing 
their  safety,  he  finally,  after  much  trouble,  succeeded 
in  getting  some  of  the  leading  Apache  warriors  to  come 
in  for  a  talk.  His  reputation  as  an  honest  and  true 
man  had  reached  even  this  people  in  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Sierras,  and  finally,  after  much  hesitation,  a  few 
of  them  came.  He  told  them  that  their  stay  on  the 
war  path  meant  eventual  extermination.  That  things 
were  changing  in  their  section  of  country  and  civiliza 
tion  was  advancing,  and  would  continue  to  do  so,  and 
set  forth  the  advantages  of  peace,  offered  them  immu 
nity  for  the  past,  and  protection  for  the  future  if  they 
would  surrender  and  settle  down  to  a  peaceful  life. 
Otherwise,  he  must  and  would  fight  them  to  extermina 
tion.  Furthermore,  if  all  the  bands  would  not  accept 
the  offer  of  the  United  States  Government  and  come  in 
he  would  gladly  offer  immunity  to  those  who  would  ac 
cept  it,  and  wished  them,  in  case  the  bad  Indians  would 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  271 

not  give  up  the  war  path,  to  assist  him  in  their  cap 
ture;  that  there  were  both  good  and  had  white  men 
and  good  and  had  Indians,  but  the  good  white  men 
forced  the  bad  ones  to  obey  the  law,  and  he  expected 
that  the  good  Indians  would  assist  him,  just  as  the  good 
white  men  assisted  the  officers  of  the  law  in  keeping 
peace  and  maintaining  order.  Runners  were  sent  out 
to  the  various  bands,  and  in  a  few  months  all  the  well- 
disposed  Indians  came  in  and  surrendered.  After  a 
suitable  length  of  time  he  put  his  troops  in  motion 
against  the  defiant  bands. 

But  when  our  troops  moved  against  them  it  was 
with  this  tremendous  difference:  Each  small  command 
moved  with  eight  or  ten  friendly  Apaches,  duly  en 
rolled,  clothed,  equipped,  and  paid  as  United  States 
scouts.  It  was  the  entering  wedge  that  enabled  us 
eventually  to  conquer  and  subdue  the  Apache.  From 
1865  to  1871  the  troops  in  Arizona  had  been  in  al 
most  constant  turmoil  with  the  Indian  tribes.  They 
seemed  to  be  constantly  on  the  alert  to  attack  the 
settlers,  and  Major  Bourke's  description  of  the  con 
dition  of  affairs  at  Peter  Kitchen's  border  ranch  is 
graphic  enough  to  answer  for  the  whole  Arizona  fron 
tier.  Bourke  writes:  *  "  Peter  Kitchen  has  probably  had 
more  contest  with  the  Indians  than  any  other  settler 
in  America.  He  comes  from  the  same  stock  which  sent 
out  from  the  lovely  vales  and  swales  in  the  Tennessee 
mountains  the  contingent  of  riflemen  who  were  to  cut 
such  a  conspicuous  figure  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans, 
and  Peter  finds  just  as  steady  employment  for  his  trusty 
rifle  as  ever  was  essential  in  the  delta.  Approaching 

*  On  the  Border  with  Crook,  p.  78. 


272  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Pete  Kitchen's  ranch,  one  finds  himself  in  a  fertile  val 
ley,  with  a  small  hillock  near  one  extremity.  Upon  the 
summit  of  this  has  been  built  the  house  from  which  no 
effort  of  the  Apaches  has  ever  succeeded  in  driving  him. 
There  is  a  sentinel  posted  on  the  roof,  there  is  another 
out  in  the  cienega  [a  marshy  meadow]  with  the  stock, 
and  the  men  ploughing  in  the  bottoms  are  obliged  to 
carry  rifles,  cocked  and  loaded,  swung  to  the  plough 
handles.  Every  man  and  boy  is  armed  with  one  or  two 
revolvers  on  his  hip.  There  are  revolvers  and  rifles  and 
shotguns  along  the  walls  and  in  every  corner.  Every 
thing  speaks  of  a  land  of  warfare  and  of  bloodshed. 
The  title  of  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  never  fairly  be 
longed  to  Kentucky.  Kentucky  was  never  anything 
...  in  comparison  with  Arizona,  every  mile  of  whose 
surface  could  tells  its  tale  of  horror  were  the  stones  and 
gravel,  the  sagebrush  and  mescal,  the  mesquite  and  the 
yucca  only  endowed  with  speech  for  one  brief  hour. 
Between  Pete  Kitchen  and  the  Apaches  a  ceaseless  war 
was  waged  with  the  advantages  not  all  on  the  side  of 
Kitchen.  His  employees  were  killed  and  wounded,  his 
stock  driven  away,  his  pigs  filled  with  arrows,  and  every 
thing  that  could  be  thought  of  done  [by  the  Apaches] 
to  drive  him  away,  but  there  he  stayed,  unconquered 
and  unconquerable.  Men  like  .  .  .  Pete  Kitchen  merit 
a  volume  by  themselves.  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  were 
full  of  such  people,  not  all  nor  nearly  all  as  determined 
and  resolute  as  Pete.  Strangest  of  all  ...  is  the 
quietness  of  their  manner  and  the  low  tone  in  which 
they  usually  spoke  to  their  neighbours."  Just  here 
I  wish  to  present  a  few  statistics  to  show  the  actual 
necessity  that  compelled  the  army  to  hunt  out,  de 
stroy,  or  capture  this  people.  In  Pima  County,  Ari^ 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  273 

zona,  in  1868-'69  the  Apaches  killed  fifty-two  white 
settlers  and  wounded  eighteen,  and  in  the  next  year 
killed  forty-seven  and  wounded  six,  and  this  in  only  one 
county.  In  1870  the  Territorial  Delegate  in  Congress, 
Mr.  McCormick,  presented  a  list  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  citizens  recently  murdered  by  the  Apaches. 
A  petition  was  sent  to  Congress  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Arizona  praying  for  protection  from  the  Indians,  giv 
ing  the  names,  dates,  and  localities  of  over  four  hundred 
American  citizens  killed  within  less  than  three  years. 
From  these  statements  it  can  be  seen  why  the  army  had 
to  keep  moving  incessantly  in  small  scouting  parties  to 
hunt  these  Indians  down.  In  1868  there  were  no  less 
than  forty-six  scouting  expeditions  sent  against  them  in 
Arizona,  in  which  one  hundred  and  fourteen  Indians 
were  killed,  sixty-one  wounded,  and  thirty-five  captured, 
but  all  this  was  not  accomplished  without  heavy  losses 
to  our  troops  in  both  officers  and  men.  Hunting  them 
out  was  terribly  rough  work;  and  wiping  them  out  when 
brought  to  bay  and  after  they  had  refused  to  surrender, 
though  it  was  an  act  imposed  by  military  necessity, 
was  nevertheless  a  most  dangerous,  grisly,  gruesome, 
and  revolting  task. 

When  the  War  Department  wisely  decided  to  send 
General  George  Crook  to  take  command  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Arizona  it  showed  equally  good  judgment  in 
not  changing  the  troops  on  duty  there  at  the  same  time 
it  changed  the  department  commanders,  for  the  regi 
ments  then  stationed  in  Arizona  had  learned  by  bitter 
experience  just  how  to  handle  themselves  while  cam 
paigning  against  the  wily  Apaches,  and  best  knew  in 
what  way  to  go  about  hunting  them  down.  When  our 
troops  moved  out  from  the  posts  or  camps  in  pursuit 


274  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  the  Indians  they  divested  themselves  of  every  super 
fluous  garment,  and  did  not  load  themselves  down  with 
even  a  single  ounce  of  impedimenta  that  they  could  pos 
sibly  do  without.  In  summer  they  were  almost  as  naked 
as  the  savages  themselves,,  and  were  sunburned  to  the 
colour  of  mulattoes,  while  in  place  of  boots  and  shoes 
they  wore  buckskin  moccasins  or  rawhide  sandals  tied 
to  their  feet  with  thongs  of  the  same  material,  which 
enabled  them  to  follow  their  foes  on  the  rocky  trail  at 
night  silently,  and  with  such  sleuthlike  movements 
that  on  several  occasions,  all  undiscovered,  they  traced 
them  to  their  very  lair.  It  was  with  these  seasoned  and 
experienced  troops  that  General  Crook  began  his  winter 
campaign  of  1871-?72  against  the  bands  of  hostile 
Apaches,  who,  despite  all  he  could  do  to  bring  them  to 
peaceful  terms  by  offers  of  immunity  for  past  misdeeds 
and  protection  for  the  future,  refused  to  come  in  to  the 
agencies,  and  still  defiantly  remained  on  the  war  path. 
They  had  already  attempted  his  assassination  at  a  peace 
talk  at  Camp  Date  Creek,  and  he  now  knew  positively 
that  for  those  who  rejected  all  overtures  of  peace  only 
one  course  was  open  so  far  as  the  Government  was  con 
cerned,  and  he  must  fight  them  to  surrender  or  anni 
hilation.  Accordingly  he  divided  his  forces  into  five 
or  six  fairly  strong  detachments  under  most  capable 
officers.  Each  one  of  these  detachments  had  a  number 
of  Apache  scouts  accompanying  it.  They  were  directed 
to  take  station  within  certain  specified  districts,  to  estab 
lish  a  rendezvous,  and  from  that  point  send  out  friendly 
Apache  trailers  and  on  their  report  move  against  the 
hostile  Apaches,  striking  and  hunting  them  down 
from  five  or  six  different  points  at  nearly  the  same  time, 
thereby  keeping  the  Indians  constantly  on  the  alert  to 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  275 

prevent  themselves  from  being  surprised,  and  subject 
ing  them  to  such  a  continued  apprehension  of  death 
and  disaster  that  he  hoped  the  continued  mental  strain 
might,  in  the  course  of  time,  break  down  their  defiant 
spirit  and  induce  them  to  finally  sue  for  peace.  All  of 
these  separate  detachments  did  good  work  during  the 
ensuing  winter,  but  it  is  only  with  one  of  them  that 
we  will  have  to  do;  and  I  follow  the  fortunes  of  that  es 
pecial  detachment  simply  because  it  will  give  iny  readers 
an  account  of  one  of  the  two  most  desperate  fights  of 
that  campaign,  and  show  how  the  troops  had  to  ferret 
out  and  practically  annihilate  some  of  the  Apache  bands 
before  the  hostiles  would  give  up  the  war  path  for  the 
reservation  system. 

Brevet  Major  William  H.  Brown,  captain  of  the 
Fifth  United  States  Cavalry,  was  ordered  from  old 
Camp  Grant  to  take  the  field  against  the  hostiles,  and, 
like  all  the  rest  of  the  detached  commands,  he  was  to 
move  over  and  operate  against  the  Indians  in  the  Tonto 
Basin,  which  in  a  general  sense  includes  all  the  country 
between  the  head  waters  of  the  Gila  and  the  Salt  Rivers 
in  the  valley  or  plain  that  lies  between  the  Mogollon  and 
Pinal  ranges  of  mountains  in  southeastern  Arizona. 
Major  Brown  was  a  most  capable  officer  (a  promotion 
from  the  ranks)  and  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  much 
experience  in  Indian  affairs.  His  force  consisted  of  two 
companies  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry  and  thirty  Apache 
scouts,  and  he  had  as  his  junior  officers  Captain  A. 
B.  Taylor  and  Lieutenant  Jacob  Almy  of  the  Fifth 
Cavalry,  Lieutenant  J.  M.  Ross  of  the  Twenty-first 
Infantry,  and  Lieutenant  John  G.  Bourke  of  the  Third 
Cavalry.  Crossing  the  Pinal  Mountains,  which  at  that 
season  were  covered  with  snow,  Major  Brown  encamped 


276  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  a  small  valley  near  the  northwestern  extremity  of 
the  range.  From  this  place  the  troops  moved  over  the 
various  Apache  trails,  sending  their  Indian  scouts  in 
advance  under  their  guides  and  Indian  interpreters, 
Mclntosh,  Felmar,  and  Antonio  Besias;  but,  although 
the  advance  had  one  or  two  small  skirmishes  with  the 
hostiles,  the  main  body  of  the  command  did  not  get  near 
them.  On  Christmas  Day  Major  Brown's  detachment 
was  joined  by  Captain  James  Burns  of  the  Fifth  Cav 
alry,  in  command  of  Troop  G  of  that  regiment  and 
eighty  Pima  Indian  scouts,  with  Lieutenant  Earl  I). 
Thomas  of  the  same  regiment  as  his  subordinate.  Two 
days  later  Major  Brown  announced  to  his  officers  that 
he  was  about  to  undertake  the  capture  of  one  of  the 
Apache  strongholds,  located  somewhere  in  the  caiion  of 
the  Salt  River,  and  which  had  been  frequently  sought 
for  by  the  troops,  but  its  location  had  never  yet  been 
discovered,  although  for  a  long  time  it  had  been  sus 
pected  that  there  were  two  or  three  large  Apache  ran- 
cherias  or  strongholds  somewhere  within  that  gloomy 
defile.  Major  Brown  had  with  his  command  a  friendly 
Apache  scout  called  Nantjce,  who  had  at  one  time  lived 
at  this  stronghold,  and  he  had  agreed  to  guide  the 
troops  there  if  they  would  make  a  night  march,  as  other 
wise  they  would  most  surely  be  seen  and  destroyed  upon 
the  trail,  for  the  Apaches,  if  forewarned,  could  easily  de 
fend  it  against  any  number  that  could  be  sent  to  attack 
them.  Leaving  his  pack  train  in  his  camp,  with  an 
ample  guard  to  protect  it,  together  with  every  man  of 
the  command  not  in  the  highest  physical  condition, 
Major  Brown  and  his  troops,  led  by  Nantjee  and  the 
scouts  and  interpreters,  took  the  trail  at  eight  o'clock 
on  a  cold  starlight  December  night,  and  started  up  anil 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  277 

over  the  Mazatzal  Mountains  for  the  hitherto  undis 
covered  Apache  path  in  the  canon  of  Salt  River.  Each 
man  had  his  belt  freshly  refilled  with  cartridges,  and  a 
number  of  unopened  packages  of  cartridges  were  also 
placed  in  his  tightly  rolled  blanket,  which  passed  over 
his  right  shoulder,  and  in  which  was  also  a  small  allow 
ance  of  coffee,  bread,  and  bacon,  and  on  the  outside  of 
it,  wrapped  up  carefully  to  prevent  it  hitting  against 
the  rocks  and  making  a  noise,  was  a  canteen  full  of 
precious  water.  Strict  orders  were  issued  that  not  a 
match  should  be  struck,  a  pipe  lighted,  a  loud  word 
spoken,  or  even  a  cough  allowed  to  escape  from  any 
one  while  on  the  march,  and  all  orders  were  passed  back 
from  the  head  of  the  column  in  a  whisper  from  one  man 
to  another  down  the  long  line  which,  Indian  fashion, 
followed  on  the  narrow  trail  in  single  file.  It  was  a 
very  bitter  night,  and  the  men  shivered  somewhat  as 
they  toiled  silently  upward  through  the  almost  total 
darkness,  each  man  seeking  to  plant  his  feet  in  the  foot 
steps  of  the  man  who  preceded  him.  Now  and  then  the 
head  of  the  column  halted  until  the  rear  guard  came  up, 
and  toward  morning  the  scouts  reported  that  they  had 
seen  a  light  ahead  of  them.  So  the  command  was 
stopped  on  the  trail  to  wait  for  further  developments. 
In  a  short  time  scouts  Mclntosh  and  Felmar  came  back 
with  the  information  that  the  light  they  had  seen  must 
have  been  made  by  a  band  of  Apaches  who  had  evidently 
been  raiding  the  whites  and  peaceful  Pima  Indians  in 
the  Gila  Valley,  and  had  just  passed  through  the 
mountain  above  on  their  return  to  their  stronghold  with 
their  plunder;  that  they  had  left  a  number  of  played- 
out  horses  and  mules  in  a  little  depression  on  the  moun 
tain  side  and  gone  on  to  their  rancheria,  and  from  all 
19 


278  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

indications  probably  within  a  very  short  time.  Major 
Brown  ordered  Captain  Burns,  with  Troop  G  of  the 
Fifth  Cavalry  and  his  Pima  Indian  scouts,  to  go  to 
where  the  abandoned  horses  were  and  hark  back  on  the 
trail  in  case  any  more  Apaches  were  coming  up.  He 
then  ordered  Lieutenant  Ross  of  the  Twenty-first  In 
fantry  to  take  fifteen  enlisted  men,  together  with  all 
the  mule  packers  who  had  come  along  as  volunteers 
and  who  were  excellent  shots,  to  go  ahead  on  the  trail, 
led  by  Nantjee  and  scouts  Mclntosh  and  Felmar,  to 
prevent  any  attempt  at  a  surprise  in  that  direction,  as 
it  would  soon  be  light,  and  the  situation  was  not  par 
ticularly  reassuring.  In  the  meantime  he  would  form 
up  his  command  and  await  a  report  from  Lieutenant 
Ross  as  to  what  was  in  his  immediate  front.  Nantjce, 
who  seemed  confident  enough,  led  the  advance  down 
along  the  steep  and  dangerous  trail  into  Salt  River 
Canon.  It  was  a  dark,  gloomy,  and  cavernous  place, 
with  just  the  flickering  glimmer  of  light  that  foreshad 
ows  dawn  to  indicate  the  narrow  path  that  zigzagged 
down  along  the  face  of  the  cliff,  but  Nantjee  trod  it 
boldly  and  confidently,  even  if  silently  and  anxiously. 
He  was  closely  followed  by  the  scouts  Mclntosh  and 
Felmar,  while  Lieutenant  Ross,  at  the  head  of  his 
trailers,  followed  quietly  on  a  few  feet  in  their  rear. 
They  had  not  gone  much  more  than  six  hundred  yards 
from  the  main  body  when  Nantjee  suddenly  held  up 
his  hand  in  warning,  and  the  command  instantly 
stopped  on  the  trail.  Standing  perfectly  still,  Nantjee 
leaned  forward,  evidently  listening  intently.  A  moment 
later  he  turned  to  Mclntosh,  who  was  almost  touching 
him,  and  whispered  "  Apache."  Motioning  the  others 
to  stand  fast,  Nantjee,  Mclntosh,  and  Felmar  crept 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  279 

slowly  forward  to  where  there  was  a  turn  in  the  trail, 
knelt  down,  and  glanced  carefully  around  it.  Then  they 
drew  back  and  motioned  Lieutenant  Ross  forward.  One 
quick  glance,  and  Ross  had  taken  it  all  in.  Less  than 
forty  yards  beyond  the  angle  in  the  trail  behind  which  he 
was  crouching  was  the  Apache  stronghold.  About  four 
hundred  feet  from  the  crest  of  the  rocky  wall  of  the 
canon  was  the  wide  mouth  of  an  open  cavern.  A  few 
feet  in  front  of  this  opening  was  a  natural  rampart  of 
almost  continuous  great  blocks  of  stone  ten  to  twelve 
feet  higher  than  the  trail  that  led  up  to  it,  and  just 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  in  full  view  by  the  light  of 
a  camp  fire,  was  a  band  of  warriors  singing  and  dancing, 
while  half  a  dozen  squaws  were  busy  cooking  them  a 
meal  on  their  return,  red-handed,  from  their  raid  in 
the  Gila  Valley.  After  a  whispered  consultation  the 
men  silently  crept  forward  on  the  trail,  and,  under  in 
structions  from  Lieutenant  Ross,  each  man  carefully 
cocked  his  piece,  then  by  the  light  of  the  Indians'  camp 
fire  he  singled  out  the  Indian  that  was  his  best  mark, 
and  at  the  word  all  fired  together.  The  crack  of  the 
rifles  and  the  deafening  echo  of  the  canon  was  succeeded 
by  wild  shrieks  from  the  startled  Indians  as  six  of  their 
braves  fell  dead  at  the  first  fire.  The  frightened  savages 
for  a  moment  or  two  sought  only  safety  in  the  interior 
of  the  cavern  and  behind  the  natural  stone  rampart  in 
front  of  it,  but  Lieutenant  Ross  and  his  men  continued 
to  fire  as  rapidly  as  possible  into  the  open  cave  and  at 
any  Indian  brave  whom  they  could  see.  Within  less  than 
three  minutes,  however,  the  astonished  Apaches  began 
to  rally,  and,  grasping  their  rifles,  commenced  to  reply 
to  the  fire  of  their  assailants,  whom  as  yet  they  could 
only  dimly  see  in  the  early  morning  light.  About  this 


280  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

time,  however,  Lieutenant  Bourkc,  at  the  head  of  forty 
or  fifty  men,  came  rushing  and  leaping  down  the  narrow 
and  dangerous  trail  with  a  recklessness  only  warranted 
by  the  desperate  need  that  Eoss  might  have  for  re-en 
forcements,  Major  Brown  having  thrown  Bourke  and 
his  men  forward  instantly  on  hearing  the  echoing  roar 
from  Salt  River  Canon  that  told  them  Ross  was  engaged 
with  the  Apaches,  and  Bourke  came  none  too  soon  to 
save  Lieutenant  Ross  and  his  men  from  a  counter-attack 
by  the  savages.  In  a  few  moments  Ross  and  Bourke 
had  taken  position  on  either  flank  of  the  Apaches'  cave 
and  sheltered  their  men  behind  the  adjacent  rocks,  so 
that  they  were  comparatively  safe  from  the  Apaches' 
fire.  It  soon  became  evident  that  some  of  the  Indians 
were  about  to  try  to  make  their  way  out  of  the  cave  by 
one  flank  or  the  other,  probably  with  the  intention  of 
communicating  with  some  one  of  the  other  rancherias 
which  was  supposed  to  be  somewhere  in  the  Salt  River 
Canon,  probably  within  a  few  miles  of  the  one  now 
being  attacked.  Lieutenant  Bourke  had  been  told  by 
Major  Brown  not  to  attempt  to  do  anything  more  than 
hold  the  Indians,  in  case  he  found  they  had  attacked 
Lieutenant  Ross,  until  he  could  get  up  with  the  rest  of 
the  troops.  So  Bourke  and  Ross  simply  kept  up  a  sharp 
fire  on  the  enemy's  flanks  and  waited.  They  did  not 
have  to  wait  long,  for  the  major  soon  made  his  appear 
ance  with  the  rest  of  his  command,  and  at  once  assumed 
control.  Just  as  the  reserve  had  appeared  one  of  the 
Apaches  endeavoured  to  crawl  through  the  rocks  around 
the  right  flank.  He  had  almost  succeeded,  but  he 
could  not  resist  giving  a  war  whoop  of  defiance  from 
a  high  rock,  wrhich  drew  a  shot  from  some  one  of  the 
men  that  instantly  killed  him.  After  realigning  his 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  281 

troops  behind  the  rocks  directly  fronting  the  enemy's 
position,  Major  Brown  formed  a  second  line  in  their 
rear  and  on  their  flanks,  completely  covering  them  in 
front  and  flank.  Besides,  he  wished  his  second  line  to 
be  able  to  turn  and  face  a  new  enemy  in  case  of  a  rear 
attack  by  any  Apaches  who  might  come  to  the  rescue  of 
these  beleaguered  ones  from  any  rancherias  that  might 
possibly  be  located  within  a  few  miles,  especially  as  he 
realized  that  the  tremendous  echo  of  the  canon  carried 
the  sound  of  the  combat  for  a  long  distance.  Having 
invested  the  ranclwria  so  strongly  that  escape  for  the 
savages  was  practically  impossible,  he  ordered  all  firing 
to  cease,  and  through  his  interpreters  summoned  the 
Apaches  to  an  unconditional  surrender.  Yells  of  rage, 
defiance,  and  threats  was  the  only  reply.  A  second  time 
he  called  upon  them  to  surrender,  the  interpreters  tell 
ing  them  how  hopeless  it  was  for  them  to  think  of 
escape.  The  Apaches  again  defied  him,  saying  that 
they  would  fight  to  the  death,  and  daring  the  troops  to 
come  on.  Major  Brown  then  asked  them  to  let  the 
women  and  children  come  out,  assuring  them  that  he 
\vould  see  that  they  were  protected  and  treated  kindly. 
This  the  savages  jeered  at,  and  again  defied  the  troops. 
It  is  probable  that  they  expected  help  before  long,  and 
it  may  be  that  otherwise  they  would  have  permitted 
their  women  and  children  to  come  into  our  lines  and 
surrender,  no  matter  what  course  they  might  have  de 
cided  upon  for  themselves.  For  the  next  hour  or  so 
the  two  combatants  closely  watched  each  other,  the 
expert  riflemen  of  either  side  seeking  an  opportunity 
for  a  shot,  but  so  well  were  both  sides  covered  by  lying 
behind  rocks  that  there  were  very  few,  if  any,  casualties 
on  either  side.  The  major  now  decided  upon  another 


282  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

course.  A  direct  assault  would  have  been  too  costly. 
The  rampart  behind  which  the  Apache  warriors  lay  was 
a  smooth  wall  or  line  of  rock  too  high  to  successfully 
escalade  without  ladders,  and  even  then  it  would  have 
been  almost  an  impossibility.  The  cave  where  the  In 
dians  lay  was  not  very  deep,  and  it  was  now  nearly  or 
quite  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  light  enough  to 
see  that  the  roof  of  it  ran  at  such  an  angle  that  rifle 
bullets  fired  at  it  would  deflect  and  glance  so  as  to  injure 
the  occupants.  Accordingly,  the  first  line  was  ordered 
to  open  upon  it  and  rain  bullets  into  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  so  as  to  hit  the  roof  of  rock  at  the  desired  angle 
to  make  them  glance  downward,  especially  so  as  to  tell 
upon  the  Apache  warriors  who  lay  massed  close  up  to  the 
rocky  rampart  in  front  of  the  cave.  In  less  than  five 
minutes  our  fire  began  to  tell.  The  Apache  warriors 
soon  rose  up  and  began  to  fire  over  the  rampart  at  our 
men,  who  hit  more  than  one  of  them  as  they  thus  ex 
posed  themselves.  Soon  the  wailing  cry  of  women  and 
children  was  heard,  and  Major  Brown  ordered  the  men 
to  cease  firing,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  quiet  enough  to 
make  his  interpreters  heard  he  again  demanded  their 
surrender;  or,  in  case  the  warriors  would  not  surrender, 
he  asked  that  they  at  least  let  the  women  and  children 
come  out.  For  a  few  moments  no  reply  was  made,  and 
all  was  silent.  The  Indians  had  also  ceased  firing,  and 
it  seemed  as  though  they  might  be  consulting  as  to  what 
course  to  take.  Soon,  however,  a  wild,  wailing  song  or 
chant  was  heard,  and  the  interpreters  shouted:  "  That's 
the  death  song!  They  are  going  to  charge.  Look  out! 
They  are  coming!  Here  they  are!"  And  twenty  or 
more  superb-looking  warriors,  fully  armed,  suddenly 
sprang  on  to  the  ramparts  and  delivered  a  volley  at  the 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  283 

men  nearest  them,  while  from  their  rear  another  party 
of  warriors  quickly  sprang  down  and  tried  to  get 
around  the  right  flank,  where  the  warrior  who  so  nearly 
got  away  in  the  morning  tried  to  escape.  Scarcely  had 
they  mounted  the  rampart,  however,  when  nearly  every 
man  on  the  front  line  dashed  from  his  cover  and  made 
straight  for  them,  opening  fire  upon  them  as  they  ad 
vanced,  killing  five  or  six  of  them  and  driving  them 
headlong  off  the  ramparts  and  back  into  the  cave, 
while  the  second  line  headed  off  and  drove  back  those 
who  tried  to  escape  by  the  right  flank.  The  instant  that 
they  were  behind  their  ramparts,  however,  they  again 
renewed  the  fight,  still  singing  and  chanting  the  death 
song. 

Major  Brown  now  brought  all  his  men  up  on  to  the 
first  line,  and  sent  a  perfect  hail  of  bullets  against  the 
roof  of  the  cave,  the  incessant  discharge  of  the  rifles 
sending  up  an  echoing  roar  through  the  canon  that  wras 
heard  for  miles  away.  While  this  was  going  on  Captain 
Burns  and  his  command,  who  had  been  sent  back  on  the 
raiding  trail  of  the  Apaches  at  daylight,  and  who  had 
heard  the  firing  and  was  now  on  his  way  to  take  part  in 
the  action  which  he  knew  was  taking  place,  reached  the 
top  of  the  precipice  just  above  the  Apache  stronghold, 
and  stopped  his  men  there  to  get  their  breath  after  the 
exhausting  climb.  The  uproar  beneath  was  so  tremen 
dous  that  Captain  Burns  and  Lieutenant  Thomas 
leaned  over  the  top  of  the  cliff  to  try  and  see  what  it 
was  all  about.  They  could  just  make  out  that  about 
four  hundred  feet  below  them  there  was  a  shelf  of  rock, 
on  which,  behind  a  natural  rampart,  a  mass  of  Apaches 
were  closely  crowded,  fighting  a  force  in  front  of  them 
which  they  could  not  see.  Within  five  minutes  Captain 


284  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Burns  had  stripped  the  ammunition  belts  off  of  half  a 
dozen  of  his  men,  buckled  them  together,  and  had  two 
of  his  men  swung  out  over  the  precipice,  while  eight  or 
ten  muscular  fellows  held  them  there  as  they  opened 
fire  on  the  Apaches  huddled  behind  the  ramparts  below 
with  their  revolvers.  This,  however,  was  too  slow  work, 
and-so,  when  they  had  emptied  their  pistols,  they  hurled 
them  after  the  bullets.  This  gave  the  captain  another 
idea,  and  soon  the  whole  command  was  gathering  up 
and  sending  great  boulders  and  masses  of  rock  down  the 
sides  of  the  precipice  into  the  now  writhing  mass  of  the 
entrapped  Apaches.  Still  the  Indians  refused  to  sur 
render,  and  held  on  desperately,  continuing  their  de 
fence  against  the  troops,  especially  from  their  left, 
where  their  medicine  man  and  two  or  three  braves  kept 
up  a  steady  fire.  Finally  even  this  gave  out,  and  with 
it  their  shouts  of  defiance  and  war  songs  gradually 
ceased.  Signalling  Captain  Burns  to  discontinue  send 
ing  down  boulders,  Major  Brown  waited  for  the  dust 
and  smoke  to  subside,  and  then  ordered  an  assault.  As 
the  troops,  rifle  in  hand,  sprang  forward  and  entered  the 
cave  by  the  trail  on  each  flank  of  the  rampart  they  saw 
that  the  fight  was  over.  The  places  behind  the  ramparts 
and  the  cave  were  both  filled  with  a  dead  and  writhing 
mass  of  humanity.  Thirty-five  living  people  were  taken 
out,  but  numbers  of  them  were  mortally  wounded.  All 
the  warriors  were  dead,  dying,  or  badly  wounded. 
Large  quantities  of  plunder  and  supplier  were  found 
here,  among  which  were  articles  taken  from  the  ranches 
in  the  Gila  Valley  which  had  been  attacked,  plundered, 
and  the  inhabitants  killed  only  two  days  before  by  the 
very  band  whose  home-coming  trail  Lieutenant  Eoss 
had  followed  to  the  cave  that  very  morning. 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  285 

A  campaign  against  the  Apache  with  men  of  the 
calibre  of  those  who  trailed  up  and  attacked  these  Indi 
ans  could  have  but  one  termination.  Eventually  they 
all  came  in  and  surrendered,  for  they  realized  that  with 
some  of  their  own  people  to  trail  them,  and  the  Ameri 
can  troops  to  follow,  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
when  those  who  were  hostile  would  be  exterminated. 
On  the  surrender  of  the  tribe  they  were  put  at  work 
under  army  officers  to  raise  grain  and  earn  their  own 
living.  This  they  proceeded  to  do  successfully.  Then 
the  peace  commissioners  interfered,  removed  them  to 
a  reservation  totally  unsuited  to  them,  and  the  final 
outcome  was  that  in  1885,  twelve  years  later,  another 
Apache  outbreak  gave  us  great  trouble,  and  seventy- 
three  white  settlers  were  killed  in  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  and  it  took  over  two  years  of  incessant  cam 
paigning  in  the  two  Territories  and  across  the  Mexican 
border  to  finally  round  up  Geronimo  and  the  renegades, 
which  was  eventually  accomplished  by  the  troops  under 
General  Miles's  command. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   MODOC    WAR   IN    OREGON". 

THE  Modoc  war  in  Oregon  in  1872  and  the  Nez 
Perce  campaign,  which  began  in  the  same  State  in  1877, 
stand  out  so  prominently  in  the  history  of  border  war 
fare  in  the  West  that  they  can  not  well  be  ignored 
in  a  sketch  of  the  work  of  the  army  on  our  frontier 
within  the  last  thirty  years.  I  shall,  however,  only 
write  of  the  Modoc  campaign  in  this  chapter.  The 
Modocs  are  an  offshoot  of  the  Klamath  tribe  of  Indi 
ans,  and  when  the  trouble  between  them  and  the  Gov 
ernment  developed  into  war  they  were  living  in  what  is 
known  as  Lost  River  Basin  and  located  in  camps  on 
both  sides  of  Lost  River,  which  is  in  the  extreme  south 
ern  edge  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  close  to  the  California 
line,  and  not  very  far  from  the  old  trail,  on  which  had 
been  established  the  first  Government  road  between 
Oregon  and  California. 

For  many  years  preceding  the  Modoc  war  this 
section  of  country  had  been  the  scene  of  bloody  en 
counters  between  the  Indians  and  the  white  settlers, 
eventuating  in  brutal  massacres  on  the  side  of  both 
the  whites  and  Indians,  with  the  result  that  both 
peoples  learned  to  distrust  each  other,  and  conse 
quently  bad  blood  had  existed  between  them  for  a 
long  time.  In  1864  a  treaty  was  made  between  the 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  287 

Klamaths,  the  Yakoskin  Snakes,  and  the  Modocs  by 
which,  for  certain  considerations,  these  three  tribes 
agreed  to  give  up  the  country  that  they  then  occupied 
and  remove  to  a  certain  allotted  portion  of  Oregon  set 
aside  for  them  and  termed  the  Klamath  Eeservation. 
Now  the  Klamaths  were  a  very  much  larger  and  more 
powerful  tribe  than  the  Modocs  and  very  unfriendly 
toward  them — in  fact,  they  were  almost  at  war  with 
each  other;  consequently  when  the  Modocs,  in  compli 
ance  with  the  treaty,  took  up  their  residence  on  the 
Klamath  Keservation  and  began  to  build  huts  and  till 
the  ground,  the  Klamaths  threatened,  insulted,  and 
annoyed  them  to  the  very  verge  of  actual  war,  telling 
them  that  they  were  too  poor  to  have  a  reservation  of 
their  own  and  had  to  live  upon  the  lands  of  the  Kla 
maths.  Their  actions  became  so  unbearable  that  the 
Modocs  left  the  reservation  and  went  back  to  their  old 
homes  in  the  Lost  Eiver  Basin.  Naturally  this  in 
censed  the  settlers,  who  had  come  into  that  section  and 
occupied  it  as  soon  as  the  Indians  had  left  it,  and  who 
distrusted  all  Indians,  especially  the  Modocs,  who 
roamed  around  a  great  deal  and  were  restless  and  at 
that  period  unsettled  in  their  daily  life.  The  treaty  of 
1864  was  not  ratified  until  1869,  and  in  the  meantime 
the  Modocs  remained  in  the  Lost  River  Basin  country, 
but  always  against  the  protest  of  the  whites  living  near 
there,  who  wished  to  get  rid  of  them  as  neighbours. 
Finally,  on  renewed  promises  from  the  Indian  agent 
that  he  would  protect  them  from  the  Klamaths,  they 
agreed  to  go  back  to  the  Klamath  Eeservation  and  take 
up  their  abode  there.  This  they  did  in  1869,  and  went 
to  work  to  hut  themselves,  cultivate  the  ground,  and 
make  their  homes  there.  Again  the  Klamaths  began 


288  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

to  persecute  and  insult  them,  and  on  the  Modocs' 
complaint  of  the  Klamaths  to  the  Indian  agent,  in 
stead  of  disciplining  the  Klamaths,  he  coolly  re 
moved  the  Modocs  to  another  locality,  thereby 
causing  them  to  lose  all  their  labour,  and,  worse 
than  all,  established  the  fact  that  the  Indian  agent 
favoured  the  Klamaths  as  against  the  Modocs.  How 
ever,  they  again  went  to  work  to  establish  them 
selves  comfortably  on  the  new  location  assigned  them 
by  the  agent.  But  the  Klamaths  for  the  third  time 
followed  them  up,  threatened,  and  insulted  them, 
taunting  them  as  outcasts,  unable  to  live  upon  land 
that  belonged  to  them,  but  compelled  to  ask  charity 
at  their  hands  (when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Modocs 
had  equal  rights  with  the  Klamaths  upon  the  reserva 
tion),  and  became  so  unbearable  that  the  Modocs  once 
more  appealed  to  the  Indian  agent  for  protection.  In 
stead  of  protecting  them,  he  directed  them  to  look  up 
another  locality  upon  the  reservation.  The  leader  or 
chief  of  the  Modocs  could  not  find  a  suitable  place,  so 
they  left  the  reservation  again,  and  the  tribe  went 
back  to  their  old  home  in  the  Lost  Eiver  Basin  and  once 
more  took  up  their  residence  there. 

In  the  meantime,  this  country  having  been  thrown 
open  to  settlement  with  the  assurance  that  the  In 
dians  had  finally  surrendered  all  claim  to  it,  had,  dur 
ing  the  time  the  Modocs  had  lived  on  the  Klamath 
Eeservation,  been  occupied  more  extensively  than  ever 
by  new  settlers,  who  were,  perhaps  naturally  enough, 
indignant  and  angry  at  the  Modocs  for  returning  to  it. 
Complaints  and  petitions  were  sent  to  the  Indian  agent, 
the  Indian  Bureau  in  Washington,  and  to  Brigadier- 
General  E.  R.  S.  Canby,  then  stationed  at  Portland, 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  289 

Ore.,  the  commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Co 
lumbia,  within  whose  jurisdiction  these  Indians  were 
located,  alleging  that  the  Modocs  were  insolent,  over 
bearing,  and  threatening,  stating  that  they  had  de 
stroyed  some  of  the  property  of  the  settlers,  and  that 
their  presence  in  that  section  was  a  constant  menace, 
and  asking  for  their  removal  to  the  Klamath  Reser 
vation,  where  they  properly  belonged  under  the  pro 
visions  of  the  treaty  of  1864.  General  Canby,  a  splen 
did  soldier  and  a  wonderfully  well-balanced  man,  after 
careful  inquiry  saw  that  there  was  the  Indian  side  of 
the  question  as  far  as  regarded  these  Modocs  being  sent 
back  to  the  Klamath  Reservation.  He  suggested  that 
perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  apportion  a  small  reserva 
tion  to  the  Modocs  outside  of  the  Klamath  Reservation, 
where  they  would  not  be  subjected  to  the  insults  of 
the  Klamaths  and  might  live  peaceably  and  content 
edly,  safe  from  Klamath  persecution. 

This  action  on  the  general's  part  did  not  meet  with 
the  approval  of  the  Indian  agent,  the  settlers,  nor  the 
Indian  Bureau.  The  Superintendent  of  Indian  Af 
fairs,  however,  sent  commissioners  to  the  Modocs  to  try 
and  induce  them  to  once  more  go  back  to  the  Klamath 
Reservation.  This  they  positively  refused  to  do,  and 
asked  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  stay  where  they 
were  until  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  could 
come  out  himself  and  see  them,  so  the  commissioners 
returned  without  accomplishing  the  object  of  their 
mission.  The  pressure  from  the  settlers  for  their  re 
moval  continued,  and  the  Indian  agent  urged  that  they 
be  compelled  to  go  back  to  the  Klamath  Reservation, 
even  if  it  involved  their  being  forced  on  to  it  by  the 
military  authorities. 


290  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

On  January  25,  1872,  Mr.  A.  B.  Meacham,  the 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  Oregon,  wrote 
General  Canby  urging  that  the  Modocs  be  removed 
to  Yainax  Station,  on  the  Klamath  Eeservation,  if 
necessary,  by  force,  and  inclosed  a  petition  signed  by 
nearly  all  the  settlers  in  Lost  Kiver  Basin  urging  the 
same  thing.  General  Canby  replied  courteously,  but 
said  that  in  his  opinion  "  it  would  not  be  expedient 
or  politic  to  send  a  military  force  against  these  In 
dians,  or  at  least  until  [they  were]  notified  of  the  de 
termination  of  the  Government  of  the  point  at  which 
they  are  to  be  established,  and  fully  warned  that  they 
will  be  treated  as  enemies  if,  within  a  reasonable  and 
specified  time,  they  do  not  establish  themselves  as  re 
quired." 

This  mode  of  action  was  too  slow  for  the  agent 
and  the  settlers,  and,  notwithstanding  General  Canby 
did  all  that  he  consistently  could  to  urge  a  new  and 
separate  reservation  for  the  Modocs,  it  was  not  done. 
On  the  25th  of  November,  1872,  Mr.  F.  B.  Odeneal, 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Oregon,  wrote  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Frank  Wheaton,  who  was  in  com 
mand  of  the  District  of  the  Lakes,  that  he  had  come 
to  the  Klamath  agency  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
the  Modoc  Indians  upon  the  Klamath  Reservation; 
that  he  was  acting  under  the  written  authority  of  the 
honourable  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  a  copy  of 
which  is  as  follows:  "  You  are  directed  to  move  the 
Modoc  Indians  to  Camp  Yainax  on  Klamath  Reserva 
tion,  peaceably  if  you  can,  forcibly  if  you  must ";  and 
he  called  upon  the  district  commander  to  be  ready  to 
aid  him  with  the  United  States  troops  in  case  the  Indi 
ans  refused  to  go. 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  291 

Colonel  Wheaton  wrote  to  the  commanding  offi 
cer  at  Fort  Klamath,  authorizing  him  to  furnish  the 
agent  a  sufficient  force  to  carry  out  his  instructions 
in  case  it  became  necessary.  On  November  27th 
Mr.  Odeneal  wrote  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
Klamath,  stating  that  "  the  Modocs  defiantly  de 
cline  to  meet  me  at  this  place."  They  authorized  him 
(Odeneal's  messenger  to  the  Modocs)  "  to  say  that  they 
did  not  desire  to  see  or  talk  with  me,  and  that  they 
would  not  go  upon  the  Klamath  Reservation."  He  then 
requested  the  commanding  officer  at  the  fort  to  send  a 
sufficient  force  to  attain  the  object  in  accordance  with 
the  orders  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  hop 
ing  that  the  military  might  be  able  to  accomplish  the 
removal  without  the  shedding  of  blood  If,  however, 
force  had  to  be  used,  he  requested  the  arrest  of  Captain 
Jack,  the  head  of  the  band,  Black  Jim,  and  Scar-faced 
Charley,  who  were  to  be  held  subject  to  his  orders. 
Captain  Jack's  band  of  Modocs  probably  contained  at 
the  time  rather  more  than  fifty  warriors.  Without 
notifying  General  Canby  or  Colonel  Wheaton  of  his 
contemplated  action,  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
Klamath  detailed  Captain  James  Jackson's  Troop  B,  of 
the  First  Cavalry,  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the 
Indian  agent. 

Captain  Jackson,  in  his  official  report,  says: 

"  I  jumped  the  camp  of  Captain  Jack's  Modoc  Indi 
ans  yesterday  morning  soon  after  daylight,  completely 
surprising  them.  I  demanded  their  surrender  and  dis 
arming  and  asked  for  a  parley  with  Captain  Jack. 
Captain  Jack,  Scar-faced  Charley,  Black  Jim,  and  some 
others  would  neither  lay  down  their  arms  nor  surren 
der.  Some  of  them  commenced  making  hostile  demon- 


292  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

strations  against  us,  and  finally  opened  fire.  I  imme 
diately  poured  volley  after  volley  among  the  hostile 
Indians,  took  their  camp,  killed  eight  or  nine  warriors, 
and  drove  the  rest  into  the  hills.  During  the  engage 
ment  I  had  one  man  killed  and  seven  wounded,  three 
of  the  last  severely  and  perhaps  dangerously.  The  band 
that  I  attacked  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  An 
other  smaller  band  on  the  north  side  was  attacked  by 
a  party  of  ten  or  twelve  citizens  and  their  surrender 
demanded,  but  when  the  firing  commenced  in  Captain 
Jack's  camp  these  Indians  opened  on  the  citizens  and 
drove  them  to  the  refuge  of  Crawley's  ranch.  One  citi 
zen  was  killed  during  the  fight,  and  two  others  coming 
up  the  road,  unconscious  of  any  trouble,  were  shot,  one 
(Mr.  Nuss)  mortally  wounded,  and  the  other  (Joe  Pen- 
nig)  badly.  My  force  was  too  weak  to  pursue  and  cap 
ture  the  Indians  that  made  off,  owing  to  the  necessity 
of  taking  immediate  care  of  my  wounded  and  protect 
ing  the  few  citizens  that  had  taken  refuge  at  Crawley's 
ranch.  The  Indians  were  all  around  us,  and,  apprehen 
sive  of  a  rear  attack,  I  destroyed  Captain  Jack's  camp 
and  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  by  the  ford,  a 
march  of  fifteen  miles,  taking  post  at  Crawley's  ranch, 
where  I  now  am.  I  need  re-enforcements  and  orders  as 
to  future  course,"  etc. 

The  Modoc  war  was  now  on,  and  Captain  Jack's 
band  immediately  fell  upon  some  of  the  nearest  settlers 
and  murdered  them  and  then  fled  into  their  fastness 
in  what  was  known  as  the  lava  beds  south  of  and  near 
Tule  Lake. 

These  lava  beds  had  been  the  roaming  ground  of 
the  Modocs  for  many  years,  and  they  knew  them  thor 
oughly,  and  no  one  else  knew  anything  about  them. 
In  fact,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  white  man  had  penetrated 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  293 

this  section  of  country  at  any  time  before  the  Modoc 
war,  and  it  was  so  peculiar  and  unusual  in  its  forma 
tion  that  it  took  our  troops  many  days  after  they  had 
campaigned  in  it  to  comprehend  its  great  natural  ad 
vantages  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  defence  for  the  Mo- 
docs.  At  the  first  glance  it  appears  to  be  a  level  stretch 
of  country,  four  or  five  miles  wide  and  nearly  eight 
miles  in  length,  covered  with  sagebrush,  but  on  at 
tempting  to  travel  over  it  one  finds  that  it  is  broken 
now  and  then  by  a  series  of  low  rocky  ridges  that  occur 
here  and  there  in  groups  and  rise  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  These  ridges  are 
split  open  at  the  top,  leaving  a  space  from  five  to  eight 
feet  wide  between  the  two  almost  solid  rock  walls  of 
the  split  ridge,  so  that  a  man  can  walk  or  crawl  from 
one  end  to  the  other  without  being  seen  by  any  one  in 
his  immediate  vicinity.  Many  of  these  rocky  ridges  are 
connected  with  each  other  by  small  transverse  rocky 
ridges  of  an  exactly  similar  nature,  so  that  any  one 
could  pass  from  one  group  of  ridges  to  another  in 
perfect  safety  from  the  bullets  of  an  enemy  if  he  thor 
oughly  understood  the  nature  of  the  ground.  Some  of 
these  transverse  ridges,  however,  are  a  perfect  cul-de- 
sac,  terminating  in  ravines  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
deep,  which  sometimes  lie  between  the  ridges,  but  are 
absolutely  invisible  until  one  is  within  a  few  feet  of 
them. 

Selecting  the  most  difficult  of  these  ridges,  and 
building  stone  walls  five  or  six  feet  in  height  to  better 
connect  the  transverse  ridges  with  his  stronghold,  Cap 
tain  Jack  got  together  his  people  and  prepared  to  de 
fend  himself  against  the  troops,  which  he  knew  would 

soon  be  sent  against  him.    He  probably  had  with  him 
20 


294:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  his  stronghold  at  least  eighty  well-armed  warriors, 
with  an  abundance  of  ammunition,  a  fair  amount  of 
provisions,  and  perhaps  nearly  or  quite  two  hundred 
women  and  children.  The  seepage  through  the  lava 
beds  of  the  three  adjacent  lakes — Clear,  Tule,  and 
Klamath — which  are  about  eight  miles  apart,  gave  him 
an  abundance  of  pure  water,  and  it  was  not  at  first 
a  very  difficult  thing  for  some  of  his  warriors  to  steal 
out  through  the  ravines  and  crevices  toward  the  set 
tlements  and  return  with  information  and  food.  In  the 
meantime  the  district  commander,  General  Frank 
Wheaton,  a  most  capable  and  experienced  officer,  was 
ordered  to  find,  attack,  and  capture  Captain  Jack  and 
his  band  of  Modocs,  and  turn  them  over  to  the  Indian 
agent.  On  December  26,  1872,  he  writes  to  the  depart 
ment  commander: 

"  I  shall  move  up  with  the  troops  on  the  west  side, 
three  miles  from  the  Modoc  stronghold,  and  camp,  .  .  . 
and  eventually  close  on  the  Modoc  cave  or  fortifica 
tion." 

On  January  5,  1873,  he  writes  again: 

"  After  all  our  annoying  delays  we  are  now  in  better 
condition.  .  .  .  We  leave  for  Captain  Jack's  Gibraltar 
to-morrow  morning,  and  a  more  enthusiastic,  jolly  set 
of  regulars  and  volunteers  I  never  have  had  the  pleas 
ure  to  command.  If  the  Modocs  will  only  make  good 
their  boast  to  whip  a  thousand  all  will  be  satisfied.  .  .  . 
Our  scouts  and  friendly  Indians  insist  that  the  Modocs 
will  fight  us  desperately,  but  I  don't  understand  how 
they  can  think  of  attempting  any  serious  resistance." 

His  force  consisted  of  three  troops  of  the  First 
United  States  Cavalry  (B,  F,  and  G),  two  companies  (C 
and  B)  of  the  Twenty-first  Infantry,  and  a  detachment 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  295 

of  twenty  men  of  F  Company  of  the  same  regiment, 
supplemented  by  two  companies  of  Oregon  Volunteer 
Infantry  (A  and  B)  and  one  other  infantry  company, 
the  Twenty-fourth  California  Volunteer  Kiflemen. 
These  volunteers  were  all  good  men,  very  fair  rifle 
shots,  and,  generally  speaking,  frontiersmen  of  consid 
erable  border  experience.  The  vicinity  of  the  strong 
hold  of  the  Modocs  had  already  been  located  by  friendly 
Indian  scouts,  and  General  Wheaton  issued  a  carefully 
prepared  order  of  attack,  which,  as  after  observation 
proved,  was  admirably  drawn,  and  left  little  or  nothing 
to  chance. 

In  conformity  with  these  instructions  the  troops 
moved  on  January  16th  for  twelve  miles  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Modoc  stronghold.  Here  part  of  the  in 
fantry,  the  mountain  howitzer  battery,  and  Captain 
Perry's  troop  of  the  First  Cavalry  went  into  camp  about 
three  miles  from  the  Modocs'  position  and  southeast 
of  it.  In  the  meantime  another  part  of  the  force  under 
Captain  Bernard,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  consisting  of 
Troops  B  and  G  and  the  Klamath  Indian  scouts,  moved 
up  from  the  east  side  of  the  Modocs'  position;  the  in 
tention  being  to  attack  them  from  both  the  east  and 
west  side  simultaneously.  He  was  ordered  to  encamp 
within  three  miles  of  their  stronghold  the  night  preced 
ing  the  general  attack,  but  the  fog  was  so  dense  that 
he  ran  upon  the  Indian  outposts  and  had  a  sharp  little 
action,  as  the  Modocs  attacked  him  and  tried  to  capture 
his  supply  train.  Captain  Bernard  drove  them  back, 
however,  and  withdrew  his  command  to  the  place  origi 
nally  intended  and  went  into  camp  for  the  night,  hav 
ing  had  several  men  wounded  in  the  affray.  At  six 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  the  troops  on  the 


296  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

cast  and  west  moved  down  into  the  lava  beds,  and,  in 
conformity  to  the  written  instructions  of  the  command 
ing  officer,  pushed  steadily  forward  to  the  attack.  It 
was  very  foggy,  the  ground  was  absolutely  unknown  to 
the  troops,  cut  up  with  rocky  ridges  and  deep  ravines, 
with  sagebrush  high  enough  to  conceal  the  foe  when 
he  dropped  beneath  it,  and  from  every  coign  of  vantage 
a  lurking  Indian  lay  watching  for  an  opportunity  to 
shoot  the  skirmishers  as  they  toiled  slowly  on,  not  see 
ing  an  Indian  until  they  were  fairly  upon  him,  or  else 
found  themselves  opposite  the  muzzle  of  his  rifle  as  he 
poked  it  through  a  rocky  crevice  and  fired  it  almost  in 
their  very  faces.  Still  from  both  sides  the  troops  stead 
ily  drove  the  Modocs  from  ridge  to  ridge  back  to  their 
stronghold,  reaching  within  three  or  four  hundred  yards 
of  the  place  in  about  four  hours'  skirmishing,  it  being 
one  o'clock  in  the  day  when  they  could  fairly  see  it 
and  were  able  to  comprehend  its  great  natural  strength 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  protected  by  deep 
ravines  and  gorges  on  both  sides  of  it.  This  is  what 
General  Wheaton  says  of  it: 

"  The  position  was  on  an  almost  inaccessible  ridge, 
flanked  on  the  east  and  \vest  by  ravines  and  gorges,  and 
in  the  midst  of  a  mass  of  boulders  and  irregular  fis 
sures,  rocky  elevations,  and  depressions,  evidently  the 
result  of  a  volcanic  upheaval  that  had  rent  and  torn  a 
belt  of  country  ranging  in  width  north  and  south  from 
five  to  eight  miles  and  in  length  from  sixteen  to  twenty- 
two  miles. 


"  At  1.30  P.  M.  Major  Green  informed  me  that  unex 
pected  obstacles  on  the  right  of  our  west  line  had  been 
encountered,  and  that  this  portion  of  his  command 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  29? 

rested  near  a  deep  gorge  occupied  by  the  enemy  that 
could  not  be  flanked  or  carried  without  an  immense  sac 
rifice,,  and  that  up  to  this  late  hour  in  the  day,  though 
Bernard  had  evidently  been  warmly  engaged  on  the  east 
side  since  8  A.  M.,  his  bullets  frequently  passing  over  us, 
there  seemed  little  or  no  hope  that  we  could  connect  the 
right  of  our  west  with  the  left  of  our  east  line  ...  as 
had  been  intended.  It  was  then  decided  to  change  the 
original  plan  of  attack  by  moving  the  west  skirmish 
line  to  the  left,  near  the  lake  shore  [Little  Klamath 
Lake],  north  of  the  Modocs,  connecting,  if  possible, 
with  Captain  Bernard's  right,  and  assault  the  enemy's 
position  from  the  north  or  lake  side.  .  .  .  This  move 
ment  was  gallantly  made,  the  enemy  contesting  every 
inch  of  ground  and  fighting  behind  their  natural  forti 
fications,  firing  only  through  cracks  and  crevices  in 
the  rocks  as  our  troops  crawled  toward  them,  exposing 
nothing  but  a  puff  of  smoke  for  our  men  to  fire  at,  and 
picking  off  our  most  advanced  skirmishers  with  deadly 
aim.  It  was  found  impossible  with  the  force  engaged 
to  carry  the  enemy's  position.  ...  At  5  P.  M.  it  was 
determined  to  withdraw  the  troops.  .  .  .  Our  opera 
tions  in  the  lava  beds  immediately  around  Captain 
Jack's  camp  were  in  such  a  rough  and  broken  country, 
and  among  rocks  and  boulders  varying  in  size  from  a 
matchbox  to  a  church,  that  it  was  only  with  the  great 
est  difficulty  that  our  wounded,  twenty-eight  in  number, 
could  be  moved." 

The  dead,  ten  in  number,  were  left  where  they  lay. 
In  another  part  of  his  report  General  Wheaton  says: 

"  I  have  been  twenty-three  years  in  service  and 
have  been  employed  a  greater  portion  of  that  time  on 
our  remote  frontier,  and  generally  engaged  in  operating 
against  hostile  Indians.  In  this  service  I  have  never 
before  encountered  an  enemy,  civilized  or  savage,  occu- 


298  THE  STORY   OF   THE  SOLDIER. 

pying  a  position  of  such  great  natural  strength  as  the 
Modoc  stronghold,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  troops  engage 
a  better  armed  or  more  skilful  foe." 

The  attack  on  the  east  side  of  the  stronghold  had 
been  made  with  equal  persistence  by  Captain  Bernard, 
who  had  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  of  the  order  of 
battle  and  reached  his  designated  position,  driving  the 
Indians  steadily  before  him  back  upon  their  fortifica 
tions;  but  here  he  encountered  a  deep  gorge,  which  was 
filled  with  Indians  and  practically  impassable  with  his 
small  force,  and  furthermore,  until  after  one  o'clock,  he 
was  fighting  in  a  dense  fog,  which  overhung  the  lake 
and  its  vicinity.  After  the  fog  raised  he  was  able  to 
extend  his  right  so  as  to  connect  with  the  troops  attack 
ing  on  the  west,  but  the  Modocs'  position  was  too  strong 
for  the  attacking  force.  Captain  Bernard  says  of  it  in 
his  report:  "  I  have  wished  respectfully  to  say  that  the 
place  the  Indians  occupy  can  not  be  taken  by  a  less 
force  than  seven  hundred  men,  and  to  take  the  place 
by  an  assault  with  this  force  will  cost  half  the  command 
in  killed  and  wrounded."  Major  Mason,  of  the  infan 
try,  says  at  the  conclusion  of  his  report:  "I  will  leave 
it  to  others  to  find  language  to  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  almost  impassable  character  of  the  country 
over  which  these  operations  were  conducted,  and  which 
make  the  Modoc  position  a  second  Gibraltar."  Major 
John  Green,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  says:  "  It  is  utterly 
impossible  to  give  a  description  of  the  place  occupied 
by  the  enemy  as  their  stronghold.  Everything  was  done 
by  officers  and  men  that  could  be  done.  Troops  never 
behaved  better.  They  contended  gallantly  with  an 
enemy  hidden  by  rocks,  deep  gorges,  and  fogs.  We 
tried  it  on  every  side  with  the  same  result."  The  loss 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  299 

io  the  troops  engaged  in  the  attack  on  the  Modocs  was 
forty-one  killed  and  wounded — a  little  more  than  ten 
per  cent  of  the  men  engaged.  The  spirited  defence 
of  the  Modocs  and  the  attendant  loss  of  life  was  evi 
dently  a  great  surprise  to  the  Indian  Bureau,  and  they 
at  once  took  steps  to  stop  further  action  on  the  part  of 
the  army  by  appealing  to  the  President  and  asking  that 
the  troops  be  used  only  for  the  protection  of  the  set 
tlers,  while  an  effort  was  made  by  the  bureau  through 
a  peace  commission  to  try  and  avert  further  blood 
shed  and  prevail  upon  the  Modocs  to  go  upon  the  Kla- 
math  Eeservation. 

This  view  of  the  matter  was  submitted  to  General 
Canby,  but  he  replied  in  substance  that  while  he  had 
urged  that  no  military  force  should  be  used  in  their 
case,  and  another  reservation  should  be  selected  and 
given  the  Modocs,  now  that  trouble  had  ensued  and 
the  Modocs  had  raided  the  settlers  and  killed  some  of 
them,  he  thought  it  would  be  best  to  defeat  them  first, 
and  then  the  Government  could  finally  settle  the  ques 
tion  at  issue  in  its  own  way.  He  was  overruled,  how 
ever,  ordered  to  use  the  troops  only  for  protection  of 
the  settlers,  and  a  peace  commission  appointed  to  con 
fer  with  the  Modocs  under  a  white  flag. 

In  order  to  be  on  the  spot  and  see  for  himself  how 
matters  would  develop  through  the  peace  commission 
ers,  General  Canby  joined  his  troops  in  the  lava  beds  on 
the  16th  of  February.  Furthermore,  the  Indian  Bureau 
had  begun  to  appreciate  the  sound  sense  of  the  man 
and  to  doubt  whether  their  commissioners  were  as  well 
qualified  to  settle  the  trouble  as  was  the  department 
commander,  and  on  the  24th  of  March  General  Sher 
man  telegraphed  General  Canby  as  follows: 


300  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  Secretary  Delano  [Secretary  of  the  Interior  De 
partment]  is  in  possession  of  all  your  despatches  up  to 
March  16th,  and  he  advises  the  Secretary  of  War  that 
he  is  so  impressed  with  your  wisdom  and  desire  to  fulfil 
the  peaceful  policy  of  the  Government  that  he  author 
izes  you  to  remove  from  the  present  commission  any 
members  you  think  unfit,  to  appoint  others  to  their 
places,  and  to  report  through  us  to  him  such  changes. 
This  naturally  devolves  on  you  the  management  of  the 
entire  Modoc  question,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  in 
structs  me  to  give  you  his  sanction  and  approval." 

The  peace  commission,  however,  had  arrived  on  the 
ground,  opened  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  and  was 
in  almost  daily  communication  with  them  through 
Frank  Eiddle,  an  interpreter,  wrho  had  married  a 
Modoc  squaw,  a  most  reliable  and  excellent  woman, 
who  accompanied  her  husband  to  and  from  the  Mo 
doc  stronghold.  Judge  Steele,  of  California,  who  had 
always  been  a  great  friend  of  the  Modocs,  went  to 
their  stronghold  twice  and  urged  upon  them  to  come 
out,  have  a  council,  and  see  if  they  could  not  reach  a 
peaceful  solution  of  their  troubles,  but  on  the  last  occa 
sion  if  it  had  not  been  for  two  or  three  especial  friends 
among  the  Indians  he  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
killed.  He  accordingly  warned  the  commissioners  and 
told  them  that  he  thought  that  the  Modocs  meant 
treachery,  and  said  that  in  his  opinion  if  they  could 
get  the  commission,  Colonel  Gillem,  and  General  Canby 
in  their  power  they  would  kill  them. 

On  one  occasion  Captain  Jack's  sister  Mary  came  in 
and  said  that  if  wagons  were  sent  out  to  the  stronghold 
all  the  Indians  would  come  in  and  surrender  in  accord 
ance  with  certain  terms  that  the  commissioners  hud 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  301 

offered  them.  Her  proposition  was  at  once  agreed  to, 
but  it  was  negatived  by  another  delegation  who  said 
that  they  wished  further  time  for  consideration. 

In  this  way  the  Indians  and  the  commissioners  con 
tinued  their  negotiations,  but  nothing  was  really  ac 
complished.  Finally,  on  April  2d,  a  meeting  between 
the  commissioners  and  some  of  the  Indians  was  effected, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  a  council  tent  should  be  erected 
about  halfway  between  the  camps  and  the  stronghold, 
where  unarmed  parties  might  meet  for  discussion.  The 
commissioners  met  the  leading  Indians  at  two  different 
times  in  this  tent  for  consultation. 

The  head  of  the  commission  was  Mr.  A.  B.  Meach- 
am,  the  other  members  being  the  Eev.  Dr.  Thomas 
and  L.  S.  Dyer,  an  Indian  agent.  On  the  4th  of  April, 
at  Captain  Jack's  request,  Mr.  Meacham  met  him,  with 
his  wives  and  six  of  his  warriors,  Mr.  Meacham  being 
accompanied  by  Judge  Roseborough,  J.  A.  Fairchilds, 
and  the  interpreter  Riddle  and  his  Modoc  wife,  Tobe. 
Captain  Jack  was  very  bitter,  and  the  meeting  availed 
nothing  in  the  way  of  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  to  surrender. 

On  the  8th  of  April  an  Indian  arrived  saying 
that  six  unarmed  warriors  were  at  the  council  tent 
for  a  peace  talk  and  wished  to  see  the  commissioners, 
but  the  man  at  the  signal  station  reported  armed 
Indians  lying  concealed  in  the  rocks  just  back  of  the 
tent.  In  the  meantime  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  and 
his  wife,  the  Modoc  Tobe,  had  become  convinced  that 
treachery  was  intended  and  had  repeatedly  warned 
the  commissioners  and  General  Canby  and  Colonel  Gil- 
lem  to  that  effect,  so  the  commissioners  on  this  occa 
sion  declined  to  go.  On  the  10th  of  April,  however, 


302  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

two  of  the  Modocs,  Boston  Charley  and  Bogus  Charley, 
arrived  at  General  Canby 's  headquarters  and  stated 
that  Captain  Jack  wished  a  meeting  the  next  day  to 
agree  upon  terms  of  surrender,  and  desired  that  all  the 
members  of  the  commission,  General  Canby,  and  Colo 
nel  Gillem,  who  was  the  senior  line  officer  in  immediate 
command  of  the  troops,  should  also  be  present.  Five 
unarmed  Modocs  headed  by  Captain  Jack  would  meet 
them  to  arrange  terms  of  surrender.  Mr.  Meacham, 
the  head  of  the  commission,  was  absent,  but  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas  agreed  for  him  that  they  would  all  go 
(unarmed)  and  meet  the  unarmed  Modocs. 

The  next  morning  the  signal  station  reported  the 
arrival  of  five  unarmed  Modocs  at  the  council  tent.  Col 
onel  Gillem  was  sick  abed  and  could  not  go,  but  Riddle, 
the  interpreter,  and  his  Modoc  wrife  protested  strongly 
against  the  meeting.  They  had  no  evidence  to  go  upon, 
but  they  sensed  danger  to  the  whites.  Dr.  Thomas  and 
General  Canby,  however,  thought  it  best  to  go.  Dr. 
Thomas,  conscientiously  anxious  for  peace  and  fearful 
that  if  the  commission  failed  to  attend  the  meeting 
the  peace  negotiations  might  fail,  and  the  failure  might 
arise  from  their  overcaution;  General  Canby,  not  that 
he  believed  the  Modocs  were  not  treacherous,  but  that 
he  thought  that  they  had  too  much  good  sense  to 
court  the  retribution  that  would  surely  follow  in  case 
they  attempted  the  assassination  of  the  commission 
ers,  and  furthermore  he  \vas  equally  anxious  with  Dr. 
Thomas  for  peace;  Mr.  Meacham,  because  he  thought 
it  his  duty;  and  Mr.  Dyer,  because  he  did  not  wish  to 
show  the  white  feather,  although  he  distrusted  the 
savages.  So  General  Canby,  Mr.  Meacham,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Dyer,  and  Riddle,  the  interpreter, 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  303 

and  his  wife  Tobe  went  to  the  council  tent.  An  hour 
later  the  lookout  at  the  signal  station  west  of  the  camp 
signalled  "  Shooting  at  the  council  tent."  The  troops 
were  thrown  forward  at  once.  Kiddle,  the  interpreter, 
and  Dyer,  the  Indian  agent,  came  running  toward  them, 
but  on  reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  tent  they  found 
the  dead  bodies  of  General  Canby  and  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Thomas,  and  Mr.  Meacham  badly  wounded  and  sense 
less.  The  Indians  had  fled. 

It  had  been  a  deliberately  planned  assassination;  all 
the  Indians  who  were  present  had  revolvers  concealed 
beneath  their  clothing,  and  it  was  patent  to  all  of  the 
whites  that  they  were  entrapped  before  they  had  been 
there  ten  minutes.  They  tried  to  appear  as  cairn  as 
usual  and  were  as  conciliatory  as  possible,  but  knew 
that  they  were  doomed.  Captain  Jack  shot  General 
Canby  in  the  head  with  his  pistol.  He  ran  about  forty 
yards  and  was  brought  down  by  a  rifle  shot  from  Ellen's 
Man.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Thomas  was  shot  through  the 
breast  by  Boston  Charley,  to  whom  he  had  given  break 
fast  that  very  morning.  He  rose  to  his  knees  after 
falling  and  said  to  his  murderer,  wrho  was  recocking  his 
gun:  "  I  shall  die  any  way.  Don't  shoot  again,  Boston!  " 
"  God  damn  ye!  Maybe  so  you  believe  what  squaw 
[Tobe]  told  ye  next  time,"  and  Boston  shot  him 
through  the  brain.  Commissioner  Meacham  was  shot 
while  running  away  by  Schonchin,  Shacknasty  Jim, 
and  Black  Jim,  and  left  for  dead,  but  he  afterward  re 
covered  and  testified  against  his  assailants  before  the 
military  commission  on  their  trial.  Dyer  escaped  un 
harmed  as  well  as  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  but  Tobe, 
Riddle's  Modoc  wife,  was  knocked  down  and  badly  hurt. 

Of  course  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Modocs 


304  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

ended  all  peace  negotiations.  There  was  an  almost 
unanimous  cry  for  vengeance  from  the  whole  country. 
The  troops  were  soon  in  motion,  and  on  April  15th 
Colonel  A.  C.  Gillem  of  the  First  Cavalry  ordered  a 
second  attack  on  the  Modoc  stronghold.  This  action 
lasted  three  days,  and  Captain  Jack  was  driven  from 
his  fastness,  but  the  troops  were  too  much  exhausted 
to  follow,  and  he  again  took  up  a  new  position  in  the 
lava  beds. 

On  the  26th  of  April  a  reconnaissance  consisting 
of  detachments  of  Batteries  A  and  K,  Fourth  Artil 
lery,  Company  E,  Twelfth  Infantry,  and  fourteen 
friendly  Indians,  under  command  of  Captain  Evan 
Thomas,  Fourth  Artillery — in  all,  seventy  men — were 
sent  out  from  Major  Green's  camp  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lava  beds  to  scout  to  a  certain  designated  point 
and  return.  They  reached  the  spot  about  twelve  o'clock 
without  seeing  an  Indian,  and  were  resting,  when  they 
were  suddenly  attacked.  All  of  the  officers  and  non 
commissioned  officers  and  most  of  the  old  soldiers  stood 
squarely  up  to  their  work  and  were  all  killed  or  wound 
ed,  but  the  majority  of  the  men  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled.  Captain  Thomas  and  three  of  his  lieutenants 
and  thirteen  enlisted  men  were  killed  and  two  lieuten 
ants  and  sixteen  enlisted  men  were  wounded.  The  only 
possible  excuse  for  the  men  who  broke  and  ran  is  that 
many  of  them  were  recent  recruits  and  had  never  before 
been  in  action,  but  to  this  day  their  conduct  is  felt  as  a 
stigma  upon  the  service.  On  the  2d  of  May  a  new  de 
partment  commander  came  upon  the  scene.  General 
Jefferson  C.  Davis,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  energetic 
officers  in  the  army,  had  been  assigned  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  Columbia,  vice  the  late  General  Canby.  He 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  305 

took  the  field  in  person  and  found  the  troops  labouring 
under  considerable  depression  of  spirits,  owing  to  their 
repeated  failures,  their  cheerless  winter  camps,  and  the 
recent  disaster  to  Captain  Thomas's  command.  Cap 
tain  Mendenhall,  of  the  artillery,  with  his  dismounted 
battery,  soon  after  arrived  from  San  Francisco,  and 
General  Davis  began  to  reorganize  the  command.  He 
sent  two  friendly  Modoc  squaws  into  the  lava  beds, 
who  returned  in  two  days  and  reported  that  the  Modocs 
had  abandoned  the  country  and  fled.  He  sent  out  Cap 
tain  Hasbrouck's  and  Jackson's  companies  with  the 
Warm  Spring  Indian  scouts  to  try  and  find  the  Modocs. 
Signs  were  found  near  Sorass  Lake,  where  the  troops 
encamped  for  the  night.  The  next  morning  the  Mo 
docs  attacked  the  camp  at  daylight.  It  was  a  surprise, 
but  not  for  long.  The  troops  grasped  their  arms  and 
returned  the  fire  in  gallant  style  and  soon  advanced 
and  attacked  the  Modocs  with  great  impetuosity,  who, 
after  some  sharp  fighting,  broke  and  began  to  slowly 
retreat  to  the  lava  beds,  contesting  the  ground  hotly 
for  three  miles.  It  was  a  fight  in  the  open,  and  for  the 
first  time  during  the  campaign  the  Modocs  were  fairly 
and  squarely  whipped  and  the  spell  was  broken.  To  be 
sure  they  were  back  in  the  lava  beds,  but  that  was 
better  than  having  them  roam  over  the  country  and 
devastate  the  ranches. 

General  Davis  now  moved  all  his  troops  into  the 
lava  beds  and  formed  a  series  of  bivouacs  from  which 
they  could  fight  or  rest,  but  they  were  always  within 
touch  of  the  Indians,  who  were  constantly  apprehensive 
of  attack.  Captain  Jack  could  no  longer  keep  his  men 
up  to  their  work.  They  soon  became  exhausted,  and  as 
he  was  very  tyrannical  in  his  treatment  dissensions 


306  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

arose,  and  finally  the  Land  broke  into  two  nearly  equal 
parties,  and  they  both  finally  left  the  lava  beds 
bitter  enemies.  No  sooner  was  this  move  discovered 
than  the  troops  were  after  them  hot  foot.  At  last 
they  had  them  in  the  open  country.  Captain  Has- 
brouck  had  a  running  fight  with  one  of  the  bands 
for  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  then  the  Indians  scat 
tered  in  all  directions.  On  the  22d  of  May  this  band 
came  in  and  surrendered.  It  contained — men,  women, 
and  children — about  one  hundred  and  fifty  people.  On 
the  29th  of  May  Captain  Jack  and  his  band  were  at 
tacked  on  Willow  Creek,  which  is  the  head  water  of  Lost 
River,  and  is  near  the  old  emigrant  road.  It  was  a 
complete  surprise,  and  the  Indians  fled  in  all  direc 
tions.  The  troops  hunted  them  down  singly  and  in 
groups  everywhere  they  went,  and  on  the  3d  of  June 
Captain  Jack  was  surrounded  and  captured,  together 
with  a  few  warriors  who  had  stood  by  him  to  the  last. 
He  was  seated  on  a  log  when  his  assailants  came  up, 
looking  worn  and  very  tired.  His  only  remark  was, 
"  My  legs  have  given  out,"  and  after  that  he  was  sto 
ically  silent.  Little  remains  to  be  said. 

The  murderers  of  General  Canby  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Meacham  of  the  peace  commission  were  brought  to 
trial  before  a  military  commission  convened  at  Fort 
Klamath  by  order  of  the  President.  The  testimony  of 
Peace  Commissioners  Meacham  and  Dyer  and  inter 
preter  Riddle  and  his  Modoc  wife,  Tobe,  established  the 
facts  of  the  assassination,  and  several  of  the  Modocs 
turned  State's  evidence  and  testified  as  to  the  agreed 
plan  of  the  assassination  by  the  Indians  the  day  before 
the  meeting  at  the  council  tent.  Captain  Jack,  Schon- 
chin,  Boston  Charley,  Black  Jim,  Barncho,  and  Schlo- 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  307 

luck  were  all  found  guilty  of  murder  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged.  The  findings  of  the  military  commission 
were  duly  approved  by  the  President,  and  the  sentence 
ordered  carried  into  execution.  Accordingly  on  Friday, 
October  3,  1873,  Captain  Jack,  Schonchin,  Boston 
Charley,  and  Black  Jim  were  hanged  at  Fort  Klamath, 
Oregon,  but  the  sentence  in  the  cases  of  Barncho  and 
Schloluck  was  commuted  to  imprisonment  for  life.  The 
rest  of  the  Modocs — men,  women,  and  children — were 
deported  from  Oregon  to  a  section  of  Indian  Territory 
not  far  from  the  Kansas  line,  and  were  there  settled  on 
Government  land  by  the  Indian  Bureau. 

The  Modoc  war  cost  the  Government  large  sums  of 
money  and  the  lives  of  some  of  our  best  officers  and 
bravest  enlisted  men — all  of  which  could  have  been 
avoided  if  the  suggestions  of  General  Canby  had  been 
heeded  and  carried  out  at  the  proper  time. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF   1876. 

THE  result  of  the  winter's  campaign  of  1868  and 
1869  against  the  Indians  within  the  Department  of  the 
Missouri  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following  official 
statement:  Three  hundred  and  fifty-three  officers,  citi 
zens,,  and  soldiers  killed,  wounded,  or  captured  by  the 
Indians.  Three  hundred  and  nineteen  Indians  killed, 
two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  wounded,  and  fifty-three 
captured  by  the  troops.  The  number  of  Indians  who, 
as  a  result  of  this  winter  campaign,  finally  came  in  and 
surrendered  at  the  different  Indian  agencies  and  other 
places  agreed  upon  between  the  department  command 
ers  and  themselves  was  nearly  twelve  thousand. 

These  Indians  included  the  majority  of  those  who 
had  been  devastating  the  frontier  along  the  Republican, 
Smoky  Hill,  and  Arkansas  Rivers,  but  it  did  not,  of 
course,  include  many  thousands  of  the  wild  tribes,  and 
consequently  raiding  by  small  bands  and  detached  In 
dian  hunting  and  scouting  parties  was  an  almost  weekly 
occurrence  along  the  sparsely  settled  frontiers  from  the 
northwestern  British  border  to  the  Rio  Grande  River 
on  the  Mexican  frontier.  From  1869  to  1876  there 
was  scarcely  a  week  during  the  late  spring,  summer, 
and  early  fall  months  that  cases  of  raiding,  plunder- 
308 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  309 

ing,  outraging,  and  murdering  isolated  ranchmen  and 
their  families  by  roving  bands  of  Indians  was  not  re 
ported  somewhere  within  the  geographical  limits  of  the 
various  military  departments  of  the  far  North,  the  West, 
or  in  the  far  Southwest.  During  the  years  1869  to  1875 
the  official  records  of  the  War  Department  show  that 
within  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  which  included 
all  of  the  North,  the  West,  and  the  Southwest  east  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains,  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
three  actions  occurred  between  the  United  States 
troops  and  the  wild  Indians,  each  one  being  the  out 
come  either  of  an  attack  by  the  Indians  on  the  troops 
guarding  Government  trains  or  made  by  the  troops  in 
pursuit  of  Indians  who  had  attacked  the  frontiersmen 
and  run  off  their  stock  or  else  killed  the  settlers  and 
then  plundered  and  burned  their  ranches. 

Some  of  the  fighting  during  these  years,  especially 
that  by  small  detached  parties  of  troops,  was  worthy 
of  all  praise,  but  I  shall  only  quote  two  actions  which 
will,  I  think,  give  the  reader  something  of  an  idea  of 
what  the  army  had  to  do  and  how  the  settlers  suffered 
on  the  border  less  than  a  generation  ago. 

On  July  8,  1869,  Corporal  Kyle,  with  a  detachment 
of  four  men  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry,  while  going  to  the 
camp  of  General  Carr's  command  on  the  Republican 
Eiver,  was  attacked  by  a  large  band  of  Indians,  but  he 
successfully  cut  his  way  through  it,  wounding  two 
of  the  Indians  without  any  casualties  to  his  own  men. 
The  next  day  General  Carr  took  up  the  Indian  trail 
and  followed  it  rapidly  for  two  days,  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  June  llth  completely  surprised  the  Indian 
camp  at  Summit  Springs.  He  instantly  charged  it  with 
five  troops  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry  and  three  companies 


310  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  mounted  Pawnee  scouts,  killing  fifty-two  Indians, 
among  them  "  Tall  Bull,"  the  head  of  the  band  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  Sioux  chiefs.  So  complete 
was  the  surprise  and  so  sudden  and  unexpected  was  the 
attack,  that  the  Indians  only  had  time  to  spring  on 
to  their  ponies  and  flee  for  their  lives.  Our  loss  was 
only  one  man  wounded  and  a  few  horses.  In  this  camp 
were  two  unfortunate  white  women,  who  had  been  cap 
tured  in  the  raids  by  the  Indians  on  the  Kansas  set 
tlements.  One  of  them,  a  Mrs.  Alderdice,  had  been 
captured  with  her  baby,  whom  the  Indians  strangled 
before  her  eyes.  The  other,  a  Mrs.  Weichell,  had  seen 
her  husband  horribly  mutilated  and  then  killed  just 
before  she  was  carried  off  by  the  savages.  When  the 
Indians  realized  that  the  troops  were  upon  them  and 
these  women  would  be  rescued,  they  killed  Mrs.  Alder- 
dice  by  braining  her  with  a  war  club  and  shot  Mrs. 
Weichell  in  the  breast  and  left  her  for  dead;  but  the 
army  surgeon  who  was  with  the  troops  extracted  the 
bullet  from  her  back,  and  she  was  tenderly  carried  by 
the  soldiers  back  to  Fort  Sedgewick,  where  she  eventu 
ally  recovered.  Her  pitiful  story  of  the  treatment  of 
Mrs.  Alderdice  and  herself  by  the  Indian  braves  was 
simply  heartrending  and  too  awful  to  put  in  print. 
Besides  capturing  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  horses 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-five  mules  in  this  Indian 
camp,  the  enlisted  men  found  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  in  money,  which  they  promptly  and  cheerfully 
donated  to  Mrs.  Weichell  as  an  expression  of  their  sym 
pathy  for  her  in  her  great  grief  and  terrible  misfortune. 
One  instance  of  the  coolness,  courage,  and  splendid 
endurance  of  a  small  party  of  enlisted  men  is  well 
worthy  of  mention  here.  In  the  month  of  September, 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF   1876.  31 1 

1874,  Colonel  (now  Lieutenant-General)  Miles,  desir 
ing  to  communicate  with  Major  Price,  while  campaign 
ing  in  Indian  Territory,  sent  out  a  detachment  of  four 
enlisted  men  and  two  scouts  with  despatches  to  that 
officer.  These  men  were  completely  surrounded  and 
attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  but,  throwing 
themselves  into  an  old  buffalo  wallow  and  lying  behind 
their  dead  horses,  they  kept  them  off  for  two  whole  days 
until  rescued  by  the  opportune  arrival  of  a  body  of 
our  soldiers.  When  the  troops  reached  them  one  of 
their  number  was  dead  and  three  of  the  others  badly 
wounded,  and  all  suffering  fearfully  for  want  of  water. 
This  almost  incessant  border  warfare  for  five  consecu 
tive  years  gradually  led  up  to  a  general  movement  of 
the  army  against  the  Sioux,  Cheyenne,  and  other  com 
bined  wild  tribes  along  the  Northwestern  frontier, 
which  only  culminated  when  they  were  forced  on  to 
their  reservations  by  the  incessant  work  of  the  army 
from  1876  to  1881. 

The  year  1876  was  in  some  respects  one  of  the 
most  unfortunate  for  the  troops  of  our  army  of  any 
of  the  campaigns  against  the  Indians  that  have  taken 
place  within  the  last  generation.  So  great  and  so  in 
cessant  were  the  complaints  of  the  settlers  on  our  North 
western  border  of  the  repeated  robberies,  raids,  and 
attacks  by  the  wild  tribes  upon  that  frontier  that  in 
the  fall  of  1875  an  investigation  of  the  matter  was 
authorized  by  the  Indian  Bureau  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  with  the  result  that  all  the  wild  tribes 
were  notified  by  that  department  that  they  must  re 
move  to  the  Government  reservations  set  aside  for 
them,  and  remain  on  said  reservations  thereafter,  by 
or  before  the  1st  of  January,  1876,  or,  in  the  event 


312  THE  STORY   OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  their  failure  to  do  so,  they  would  be  turned  over  to 
the  War  Department.  This  demand  on  the  part  of  the 
Indian  Bureau  had  scarcely  any  perceptible  effect; 
consequently,  in  the  month  of  February,  1876,  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Interior  turned  the  whole  matter  over 
to  the  War  Department  for  such  action  as  would  com 
pel  these  Indians  to  come  in  to  the  reservations. 

In  justice  to  some  of  these  Indians,  it  ought  to 
be  stated  that  a  number  of  the  tribes  had  never  ac 
cepted  the  reservation  system,  and  had  always  averred 
that  they  would  not  come  in,  and  positively  refused 
to  agree  to  anything  looking  to  such  an  end.  Among 
these  was  Sitting  Bull,  who  at  that  time  was  not  a 
prominent  chief  and  whose  following  was  probably  less 
than  fifty  lodges,  and  Crazy  Horse,  an  Ogallalla  Sioux 
who  had  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  lodges  in 
his  immediate  following;  but  the  rest  of  the  Ogallalla 
Sioux,  as  a  body  outside  of  Crazy  Horse's  following, 
were  supposed  to  belong  to  Keel  Cloud  agency,  and 
agency  issues  had  been  made  there  to  them. 

It  was  about  these  two  leaders,  Crazy  Horse  and 
Sitting  Bull,  that  the  disaffected  Indians  began  to  con 
centrate.  As  all  of  the  Northern  hostiles  were  within 
the  division  of  the  Missouri,  which  at  that  time  was 
under  the  command  of  Licutenant-General  P.  II.  Sheri 
dan,  the  commanding  general  of  the  army,  General  W. 
T.  Sherman  turned  the  whole  matter  over  to  him,  and 
he  ordered  two  of  his  department  commanders — Briga 
dier-General  A.  H.  Terry,  of  the  Department  of  Da 
kota,  and  Brigadier-General  George  Crook,  of  the 
Department  of  the  Platte — within  whose  respective 
departments  these  hostile  Indians  were  living,  to  con 
centrate  their  troops  and  proceed  against  them.  Be- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1876.  313 

fore  taking  this  action,  however,  runners  were  sent  to 
the  hostile  Indian  camps,  telling  them  of  the  deter 
mination  of  the  Government,  and  every  possible  argu 
ment  was  advanced  to  induce  them  to  abandon  the  war 
path  and  come  in  to  the  reservations  and  be  at  peace 
with  the  whites,  but  it  was  not  of  the  slightest  use; 
and  as  argument  could  not  avail,  recourse  had  to  be 
had  to  sterner  measures. 

General  Crook's  first  move  was  to  concentrate  his 
cavalry  at  Fort  Fetterman,  for  all  his  information  led 
him  to  believe  that  the  hostiles  would  be  found  located 
somewhere  on  the  head  waters  of  Powder  River,  Tongue 
River,  or  along  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud.  On  the 
17th  of  March  Colonel  J.  J.  Reynolds,  with  five  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  and  four  troops  of  the  Third 
Cavalry,  left  Fort  Fetterman  on  an  expedition  against 
the  hostiles.  The  weather  turned  bitterly  cold  soon 
after  he  started  on  the  march,  and  so  cold  was  it 
that  the  mercurial  thermometer  failed  to  register  its 
intensity;  notwithstanding  which  the  command  pressed 
on  vigorously  to  the  mouth  of  Little  Powder  River, 
where  it  surprised  and  attacked  a  large  village  of  the 
Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  which  it  captured,  together  with 
a  pony  herd  of  eight  hundred  animals.  Our  loss  was 
four  enlisted  men  killed  and  one  lieutenant  and  five 
men  wounded.  This  village  was  a  perfect  magazine  of 
fixed  ammunition  and  supplies  of  all  sorts.  Everything 
in  it  went  to  show  that  these  hostiles  were  in  constant 
communication  with  the  agency  Indians  at  Red  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  agencies,  and  obtained  their  war 
material  and  supplies  directly  from  them.  One  hundred 
and  five  lodges  were  burned,  and  then  the  troops  set 
out  on  their  return  to  Fort  Fetterman,  driving  the 


314  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

pony  herd  with  them,  with  the  result  that  they  were 
followed  by  the  Indians,  who  stampeded  the  herd  and 
so  got  their  ponies  back.  It  is  not  known  how  many 
Indians  were  killed  in  this  action,  but  as  they  fled  at 
the  first  attack  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  they  did 
not  lose  any  more  men  than  we  did.  The  destruction  of 
the  village,  with  its  provisions  and  war  supplies,  was 
a  very  good  thing,  but  the  loss  of  the  pony  herd  was 
a  serious  misfortune  at  the  beginning  of  an  Indian 
campaign.  On  the  return  of  these  troops  to  Fort  Fet- 
terman,  so  inclement  was  the  weather  that  they  had 
to  be  sent  back  to  their  various  winter  posts  for  shelter. 
The  spring  of  1876  in  the  north  was  an  unusually 
backward  one,  and  in  fact  the  entire  summer  was  a 
most  inclement  one,  the  whole  country  being  flooded 
with  terrible  rains  and  swept  with  wind  storms  of  un 
usual  severity.  It  was  not  until  the  29th  of  May  that 
General  Crook,  the  department  commander,  was  en 
abled  to  concentrate  his  troops  and  take  the  field  in 
person  against  the  Indians.  On  that  date,  with  five 
troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  Major  H.  E.  Noyes  com 
manding;  ten  of  the  Third  Cavalry,  Colonel  W.  B. 
Eoyall  commanding;  and  two  companies  of  the  Fourth 
and  three  of  the  Ninth  Infantry,  Major  Alexander 
Chambers  commanding;  together  with  a  splendid  pack 
train  of  more  than  a  thousand  mules,  he  left  Fort  Fet- 
termaji  for  Goose  Creek,  upon  which  he  proposed  to 
establish  his  depot  of  supplies,  from  where  he  intended 
to  operate  against  the  hostile  Sioux,  whom  he  expected 
to  find  somewhere  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Tongue, 
the  Rosebud,  the  Powder,  or  the  Big  Horn  Rivers,  but 
in  what  precise  locality  he  would  find  them  or  whether 
they  would  meet  him  on  the  way  there  he  had  no  idea. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  315 

His  whole  command  numbered  a  little  more  than 
eleven  hundred  fighting  men.  It  was  Chief  Crazy  Horse 
and  his  Sioux  allies  that  he  expected  to  meet  and  fight 
in  the  campaign  he  was  about  to  inaugurate.  If  the  re 
peated  statements  of  the  Indian  agents  at  Eed  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  agencies  could  be  believed,  few  if  any 
of  their  young  men  had  left  the  agencies,  and  they 
were  constantly  issuing  Government  rations  to  all  of 
them.  But,  as  after  events  proved,  while  they  undoubt 
edly  charged  the  Indian  Bureau  for  full  issues,  nearly 
or  quite  ninety  per  cent  of  their  fighting  braves  were 
on  the  war  path  and  had  gone  to  join  Crazy  Horse  and 
Sitting  Bull;  so  that  when  General  Crook  finally  did 
meet  the  hostiles  he  was  confronted  by  more  than  three 
times  as  many  warriors  as  he  expected  to  meet.  On 
the  night  of  the  31st  of  May  the  thermometer  fell  to 
zero,  and  a  terrific  wind  storm  swept  down  the  tents 
of  the  command  from  one  end  of  the  camp  to  the  other, 
and  the  troops  shivered  around  their  camp  fires  until 
daybreak.  It  was  the  precursor  of  many  more  storms 
like  it,  for  this  summer's  campaign  was  one  that  tried 
the  men's  patience  to  the  utmost  limits.  It  was 
not  until  the  17th  of  June  that  General  Crook's  forces 
met  the  hostiles.  On  the  preceding  night  he  had  en 
camped  in  the  valley  of  Rosebud  Creek,  with  the  pack 
train  and  cavalry  horses  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
command,  for  he  well  knew  that  the  hostile  Sioux 
could  not  be  very  far  distant.  In  fact,  he  expected 
to  find  their  village  upon  the  head  waters  of  the 
Rosebud.  All  day  long  his  Indian  scouts  of  Snakes  and 
Crows  had  been  killing  buffaloes,  vast  herds  of  which 
were  quietly  feeding  on  both  sides  of  his  marching  col 
umn,  and  until  late  in  the  night  they  had  been  feasting 


316  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  singing,  much  to  his  annoyance;  but  under  the  cir 
cumstances  it  would  have  been  poor  policy  to  have  for 
bidden  the  feast  and  thereby  have  disgruntled  them  just 
at  this  particular  juncture.  Before  daylight,  however, the 
whole  command  was  up,  had  groomed  and  fed  its  horses 
and  pack  mules,  breakfasted,  and  was  standing  to  horse. 

Just  as  dawn  lit  up  the  eastern  hills  the  Indian 
scouts  disappeared  over  the  northern  bluffs,  and  soon 
after  the  whole  command  inarched  steadily  north 
ward  until  the  sun  was  well  above  the  horizon.  Here 
it  halted  in  a  little  valley  surrounded  by  low-lying  hills 
in  every  direction,  through  which  the  Rosebud  was 
silently  flowing,  and  orders  were  given  to  unsaddle  and 
graze  the  horses,  as  the  grass  was  unusually  good.  The 
troops  were  on  both  sides  of  the  stream,  the  right 
bank  being  occupied  by  the  five  companies  of  the  Sec 
ond  Cavalry  under  Major  Noyes,  and  one  battalion  of 
the  Third  Cavalry  under  Captain  Mills.  On  the  left 
bank  was  the  infantry  under  Major  Chambers,  with 
Colonel  Guy  V.  Henry's  and  Van  Vliet's  battalions 
of  the  Third  Cavalry,  together  with  the  pack  train 
and  such  of  the  Indian  scouts  as  had  not  gone  out  in 
the  morning. 

It  was  a  little  after  eight  o'clock  when  a  few 
shots  were  heard  over  beyond  the  northern  hills  that 
hemmed  in  the  valley  in  that  direction,  and  almost 
immediately  the  Indian  scouts  who  had  been  sent  on  in 
advance  in  the  early  morning  came  pouring  over  the 
hills  in  wild  and  precipitate  flight  toward  the  troops, 
shouting  as  they  recklessly  plunged  down  the  steep 
slope  at  breakneck  speed,  "  Sioux,  Sioux!  Heap  Sioux!  " 
and  pointing  back  to  the  hills  whence  they  had 
come.  At  their  first  appearance  every  trooper  had  in- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  317 

stantly  saddled  and  bridled  his  horse,  mounted  and 
taken  his  place  in  ranks  without  waiting  for  orders, 
and  they  now  sat  silent  and  grim,  with  their  eyes 
fixed  on  the  northern  hills.  They  did  not  have  long 
to  wait,  for  in  a  brief  space  of  time  these  hills  were 
covered  with  mounted  Sioux,  who  instantly  opened  fire 
upon  them  from  their  rifles  and  then  rode  up  and  down 
the  crest,  shouting,  waving  their  guns  over  their  heads, 
and  defying  them  by  words  and  gestures  to  come  on. 
General  Crook  had  promptly  thrown  forward  his  infan 
try  to  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  they  were  advancing 
as  skirmishers  when  Adjutant  Lemly,  riding  at  a  gallop, 
dashed  up  to  Captain  Anson  Mills  (now  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  Mills,  retired),  shouting  as  he  came  on:  "The 
commanding  officer's  compliments,  and  your  battalion 
will  charge  those  bluffs  on  the  centre." 

Captain  Mills  gave  but  two  commands,  "  Eight  into 
line,"  and  as  his  four  splendid  troops  of  cavalry  promptly 
swung  into  battalion  front  he  raised  himself  in  his  stir 
rups  and  shouted  "  Charge !  "  Every  trooper  in  ranks 
drove  home  his  spurs,  and  the  superb  body  of  horsemen 
swept  up  the  steep  slope  in  a  mad  rush  for  the  defiant 
Sioux,  who,  as  the  troops  came  galloping  on,  opened 
upon  them  with  their  rifles,  sending  down  a  horse  and 
man  here  and  there,  but  not  in  the  least  checking  the 
weight  of  the  charge;  for,  as  they  gained  the  crest  in 
splendid  alignment  and  saw  the  Sioux  drawn  up  to  meet 
them  two  hundred  yards  away,  the  whole  command 
burst  into  a  tremendous  cheer  and,  breaking  into  a  dead 
run,  made  straight  for  them;  but  before  they  were 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  Indians  the  Sioux  broke  wildly 
and  fled  down  the  oposite  slope  in  every  direction.  The 
battle  of  the  Rosebud  was  on. 


318  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

Scarcely  had  Captain  Mills  started  on  his  charge 
when  orders  were  given  Captain  and  Brevet  Colonel  Guy 
V.  Henry,  who  commanded  the  second  battalion  of  the 
Third  Cavalry,  to  support  our  infantry,  which  the  Sioux, 
who  had  begun  to  develop  in  wonderfully  strong  array, 
were  now  advancing  upon  and  attempting  to  surround. 
Colonel  Henry  hurled  his  battalion  upon  them  with 
all  the  impetuosity  of  his  nature,  and  the  Indians  gave 
way  in  great  confusion,  and  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
together  pressed  their  line  steadily  back  for  more  than 
half  a  mile.  Here,  however,  the  Indians  seemed  to  be 
heavily  re-enforced  and  held  their  own  with  great  te 
nacity;  nor  was  our  force  strong  enough  to  dislodge 
them  from  their  position  on  the  crest  of  some  outlying 
hills. 

About  this  time  General  Crook  sent  forward  the 
two  remaining  troops  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry  to  occupy 
the  bluffs  to  his  left  and  rear,  anticipating  that  possibly 
the  Indians  might  attempt  a  flank  movement.  It  was 
now  clearly  evident  that  instead  of  meeting  Crazy  Horse 
with  a  few  malcontents — which  if  the  statements  of 
the  Indian  agents  at  Eed  Cloud  and  Spotted  Tail  agen 
cies  had  been  true  could  not  possibly  have  exceeded  a 
thousand  warriors — the  command  was  facing  not  less 
than  twenty-five  hundred  and  probably  three  thousand 
well-equipped  and  finely  armed  mounted  warriors,  who 
had  undoubtedly  been  sent  out  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
their  villages,  which  probably  had  been  located  several 
miles  up  the  stream  and  at  the  other  end  of  the  canon 
in  which  the  fight  was  now  taking  place.  General 
Crook  still  held  the  five  troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
under  command  of  Major  Noyes,  in  reserve;  and  Cap 
tain  Mills  having  taken  the  first  line  of  heights,  he  sent 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  319 

the  Crow  and  Snake  scouts  to  his  support,  at  the  same 
time  detaching  one  of  Captain  Mills's  troops  to  the 
support  of  Colonel  Henry's  battalion  on  the  right.  The 
Sioux  had  now  rallied  and  reformed  on  the  second  line 
of  heights,  and  it  was  decided  to  attack  them  without 
delay.  Accordingly,  the  whole  line  of  cavalry  was  or 
dered  to  charge  them,  which  it  did  with  great  impetu 
osity,  the  Indians  breaking  just  before  the  troops 
reached  them  and  immediately  occupying  a  third  line 
of  hills  which  rose  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  just 
beyond  the  line  of  hills  that  the  command  had  driven 
them  from. 

Orders  were  now  given  for  the  cavalry  to  dis 
mount  and  fight  on  foot,  and  the  men  were  soon  ad 
vancing  on  foot  as  skirmishers  while  the  horses  were 
held  by  every  fourth  man  well  back  and  partially  under 
cover  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  In  the  meantime  the 
troops  on  the  right,  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Colonels  Royall  and  Henry,  were  facing  the  Chey- 
ennes,  who  fiercely  opposed  their  advance  at  every  point 
and  disputed  the  ground  foot  by  foot.  One  of  the 
companies  of  the  Third  Cavalry,  under  Captain  Yroom 
having  pushed  forward  beyond  the  line,  was  at  one  time 
completely  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  only  extri 
cated  by  the  coolness  of  its  captain  and  the  good  man 
agement  of  Colonels  Royall  and  Henry.  The  Cheyennes 
made  a  most  determined  attack  upon  Colonel  Henry's 
(dismounted)  battalion,  and  in  repelling  this  advance 
Colonel  Henry  was  badly  wounded  by  a  bullet  which 
passed  through  both  cheek  bones,  destroyed  the  sight 
of  one  eye,  and  broke  the  bridge  of  his  nose,  but  he 
bravely  sat  his  horse  until  the  enemy  was  repulsed. 
About  this  time  the  Sioux  made  a  most  determined 


320  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

charge  down  some  intervening  ravines  on  General 
Crook's  centre.  Here  they  were  met  by  the  Crow  and 
Snake  scouts,  under  command  of  Major  Randall  and 
Lieutenant  Bourke,  of  General  Crook's  staff,  and  a 
sharp  fight  between  the  two  bodies  of  Indians  ensued, 
in  which,  by  the  aid  of  our  troops,  the  Sioux  were 
finally  forced  back. 

General  Crook  now  determined  to  make  an  effort 
to  reach  the  Sioux  village  and,  if  possible,  force  mat 
ters  to  a  conclusion.  Accordingly,  he  ordered  Captain 
Mills  to  mount  his  battalion  (he  had  only  three  com 
panies,  one  having  been  detached)  and,  supported  by 
Major  Noyes  with  five  troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
to  find  and  attack  the  Sioux  villages,  supposed  to  be 
somewhere  beyond  in  what  was  known  as  the  Dead 
Canon  of  the  Eosebud  Valley.  Mounting  his  com 
mand,  Captain  Mills  set  out  at  once  in  search  of  the 
villages.  He  was  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Bourke, 
of  General  Crook's  staff,  and  Frank  Gruard,  the  In 
dian  scout  and  interpreter.  A  body  of  Sioux  posted 
on  a  bluff  to  hold  the  entrance  to  the  canon  having 
been  dislodged  by  a  charge  of  cavalry,  the  troops, 
guided  by  Gruard,  entered  the  canon  and  started  on 
their  quest.  It  was  a  wild  and  dangerous  defile,  narrow 
and  shut  in  by  high  rocks  and  overhung  by  gloomy 
woods.  It  was  said  to  be  eight  or  ten  miles  in  length, 
and  it  was  thought  that  the  main  encampment  of  the 
Sioux  would  be  found  near  the  north  end  of  it.  The 
troops  had  probably  advanced  a  third  of  its  length  when 
they  were  overtaken  by  orders  from  General  Crook  to 
return  at  all  speed,  as  the  Indians  were  surely  pressing 
the  rest  of  the  command,  and,  under  the  circumstances, 
it  would  not  do  to  divide  his  forces. 


THE  SIOITX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  321 

As  soon  as  possible  the  cavalry  retraced  its  course, 
and  by  a  slight  detour  near  the  end  of  the  canon  came 
out  in  full  view  of  the  contending  forces  just  as  the 
Sioux  were  about  to  attack  our  troops  in  overwhelming 
force;  but  the  sudden  and  unlooked-for  charge  of  the  re 
turning  cavalry,  who  came  to  the  rescue,  cheering  wildly 
as  they  charged,  completely  stampeded  the  Indians,  who 
broke  away  to  the  hills  in  all  directions,  leaving  our 
troops  in  possession  of  the  field  and  thirteen  of  their 
dead  whom  they  were  unable  to  carry  off  in  their  haste. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  action,  for  the  Sioux  fell  back 
into  the  hills;  and  General  Crook  was  compelled  to  ad 
mit  that  the  object  of  his  campaign — viz.,  the  surprise 
and  destruction  of  the  hostile  Sioux  villages — was  a 
failure,  as  they  were  in  all  probability  already  packing 
up  to  join  Sitting  Bull's  encampment  farther  north. 
Moreover,  he  knew  also  that  Crazy  Horse's  following 
was  too  large  for  him  to  attack  and  defeat  with  his 
present  force.  That  night  he  fell  back  to  his  camp 
of  the  preceding  night,  and  the  next  day  he  reached 
his  base  of  supplies  at  Goose  Creek.  Our  losses  in  the 
battle  of  the  Rosebud  were  nine  men  killed  and  one 
officer  (Colonel  Guy  V.  Henry)  and  twenty-three  en 
listed  men  wounded,  two  Indian  scouts  killed  and  six 
wounded.  Thirteen  of  the  Indian  dead  fell  into  our 
hands;  beyond  that  nothing  is  known,  although  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  there  were  others  killed  and  many 
wounded. 

It  is  now  time  to  take  a  look  at  what  was  being 
done  in  the  way  of  a  campaign  against  the  hostiles  in 
the  Department  of  Dakota.  It  was  understood  that 
Generals  Crook  and  Terry  would  take  the  field  against 
the  Indians  at  about  the  same  time.  On  June  21st 


322  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

General  Terry,  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  four  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry,  six  companies  of  the  Seventh 
Infantry,  and  six  of  the  Seventeenth,  and  a  battery  of 
three  Gatling  guns,  was  encamped  on  the  Yellowstone 
River,  preparatory  to  moving  on  Sitting  Bull's  force, 
which  had  been  relatively  located  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  Eiver.  After  consulta 
tion  with  Generals  Gibbon  and  Custer,  the  following 
plan  of  operation  was  decided  upon:  Custer,  with  the 
whole  of  his  regiment — the  Seventh  Cavalry — should 
proceed  up  the  Rosebud  until  he  cut  the  Indian  trail, 
discovered  by  Major  Reno,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  a 
few  days  previously.  If  it  led  directly  to  the  Little 
Big  Horn  he  should  not  follow  it,  but  deflect  consid 
erably  to  the  south  before  turning  toward  that  river  in 
order  to  intercept  the  Indians  should  they  attempt  to 
slip  between  him  and  the  mountains,  and  also  to  give 
time  for  General  Gibbon's  column  to  come  up.  General 
Gibbon,  with  six  companies  of  his  own  regiment — the 
Seventh  Infantry — and  four  troops  of  the  Second  Cav 
alry,  was  to  cross  the  Yellowstone  River  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Horn  and  march  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Little  Big  Horn,  with  the  expectation  of  reaching 
that  place  by  June  26th.  If  this  could  be  successfully 
accomplished  they  would  have  Sitting  Bull's  forces  be 
tween  the  two  commands.  But  the  written  instructions 
given  General  Custer  gave  him  great  latitude. 

Custer  started  up  the  Rosebud  on  June  22d,  while 
Gibbon's  command,  accompanied  by  General  Terry, 
moved  the  same  day  for  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn. 
Custer  reached  and  crossed  Tullock's  Creek  on  the  after 
noon  of  June  24th.  On  June  22d  he  made  a  march  of 
twelve  miles;  June  23d  he  marched  up  the  Rosebud 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  323 

thirty-three  miles;  June  24th  he  marched  twenty-eight 
miles  and  encamped.  At  eleven  o'clock  that  night  the 
command  marched  up  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Rose 
bud,  turning  to  the  right  from  the  main  stream,,  which 
branch  headed  out  at  the  summit  of  the  "  divide  "  be 
tween  the  Rosebud  and  the  Little  Big  Horn.  At  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  command  halted 
for  three  hours,  made  coffee,  and  resumed  the  march, 
crossed  the  "  divide,"  and  at  eight  o'clock  was  in  the 
valley  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 
Ouster  pushed  down  the  valley  of  the  creek  he  was  upon 
directly  toward  the  Little  Big  Horn.  He  believed  he 
had  been  seen  by  the  Indians,  and  evidently  thought 
his  best  course  was  to  attack.  Taking  personal  com 
mand  of  Troops  G,  E,  F,  I,  and  L,  he  marched  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  creek.  He  had  given  Major  Reno 
command  of  Troops  A,  G,  and  M  and  Captain  Benteen 
command  of  Troops  IT,  D,  and  K,  and  both  Reno  and 
Benteen  were  marching  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
creek.  Captain  McDougall,  with  B  troop,  was  guard 
ing  the  pack  train  and  in  rear  of  the  entire  command, 
and  also  following  down  on  the  left  bank  of  the  creek, 
but  out  of  sight  of  the  rest  of  the  regiment.  About 
eleven  o'clock  Reno  crossed  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
creek  and  joined  Custer's  column.  A  little  after  twelve 
o'clock  Custer's  scouts  reported  the  Indian  village  only 
two  miles  ahead,  and  stated  that  the  Indians  were  run 
ning  away. 

Custer  ordered  Reno  to  move  forward  and  charge 
the  village,  with  the  understanding  (according  to 
Reno)  that  he,  Custer,  was  to  support  him.  Reno 
moved  at  a  fast  trot  for  about  two  miles,  reached  the 
river,  crossed  it,  halted  a  few  moments  to  form  up  his 


324:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

command,  deployed,  and  charged.  lie  states  that  he 
drove  the  Indians  for  two  miles  or  over  down  the  river 
toward  the  village,  which  still  stood,  the  tepees  not 
having  been  taken  down.  In  the  meantime  he  could 
not  see  or  hear  anything  of  either  Ouster  or  Benteen, 
and  the  Indians  began  swarming  toward  him  in  great 
numbers.  Accordingly,  he  took  position  in  the  edge  of 
some  timber,  which  made  a  protection  for  his  horses, 
dismounted  his  men,  and  began  to  fight  on  foot  from 
behind  the  trees.  Very  soon,  however,  he  realized  that 
he  would  be  overcome  by  the  immensely  preponderating 
force  of  Indians.  Accordingly,  he  mounted  his  troops, 
charged  through  the  Indians,  recrossed  the  river,  and 
took  up  a  position  on  the  crest  of  a  bluff  on  the  opposite 
side. 

In  this  charge  two  of  his  lieutenants  and  his  as 
sistant  surgeon,  together  with  twenty-nine  enlisted  men, 
were  killed,  and  seven  men  wounded.  Here  he  was 
joined  by  Benteen's  battalion  of  three  troops,  Benteen 
having,  according  to  orders,  gone  well  out  on  the  left 
and  rear  to  cover  any  approach  of  Indians  from  that 
direction,  but  not  finding  any  he  returned  toward  the 
main  column  and  was  met  by  an  orderly  directing  him 
to  come  on  at  once,  as  the  Indian  village  was  in  sight. 
A  few  moments  after  Benteen  had  joined  Reno  Cap 
tain  McDougall  came  up  with  Troop  B  and  the  pack 
train.  These  three  detachments  gave  Reno  a  command 
of  seven  troops,  making  an  aggregate  of  nearly  four 
hundred  officers  and  men.  Nothing  having  been  seen 
or  heard  of  Ouster  and  his  command,  Reno  moved  down 
the  river  along  the  crest  of  the  bluffs  on  the  side  oppo 
site  the  Indian  village.  Notwithstanding  that  firing  had 
been  heard  over  beyond  the  village,  nothing  was  now 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  325 

seen  or  heard  to  indicate  where  Ouster  and  his  men 
might  be. 

Accordingly,  Eeno  halted  on  a  high  bluff  and  sent 
out  Captain  Weir  with  his  troop  to  try  and  open 
communication  with  Ouster.  Weir  sent  back  word 
that  it  was  impossible  to  advance,  as  he  was  heav 
ily  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  Indians.  He  was 
therefore  ordered  back  and  Eeno  moved  his  command 
back  up  the  river  and  took  position  on  the  bluff  he 
had  first  occupied.  It  was  especially  well  adapted  to 
defence,  as  there  was  a  depression  into  which  he  placed 
his  horses  and  pack  train,  and  occupied  the  surround 
ing  crest  with  his  dismounted  cavalry.  The  Indians 
now  came  up,  surrounded,  and  attacked  him  in  force, 
keeping  up  the  assault  from  six  to  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
at  which  time  they  drew  off. 

In  this  affair  Eeno's  casualties  were  eighteen  killed 
and  forty-six  wounded.  Eeno  now  proceeded  to  deepen 
his  rifle  pits  and  to  strengthen  his  lines  by  using  boxes 
of  supplies  from  the  pack  train  and  the  bodies  of 
such  of  his  mules  and  horses  as  the  Indians  had 
killed  during  their  attack.  Between  two  and  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning  —  July  26th  —  the  Indians 
opened  a  heavy  fire  from  several  points  in  Eeno's  vi 
cinity  that  overlooked  his  position,  so  completely  sur 
rounding  it  that  men  were  hit  in  the  rifle  pits  from 
the  opposite  side  from  which  they  were  fighting. 
About  half  past  nine  o'clock  the  savages  made  a  des 
perate  assault  upon  that  portion  of  the  line  held  by 
Troops  H  and  M,  almost  reaching  the  rifle  pits, 
when  Captain  Benteen  suddenly  sprang  forward  and 
led  the  men  against  them  in  a  gallant  and  unexpected 
counter-charge,  driving  them  back  in  great  confusion. 
22 


326  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Reno  also  led  Troops  D  and  K  against  them  in  a  coun 
ter-charge  from  the  other  side  of  the  position  when 
they  had  charged  up  to  the  earthworks  so  close  as  to 
be  particularly  dangerous.  The  men,  especially  the 
wounded,  were  now  suffering  greatly  from  thirst,  it 
having  been  sixteen  hours  since  they  had  last  had  any 
drinking  water.  Accordingly,  volunteers  were  called 
for,  and  a  number  of  the  men  promptly  responded. 
Loaded  with  pails  and  canteens  and  protected  by  a 
skirmish  line  thrown  forward  under  Benteen,  they  de 
scended  to  the  stream  and  filled  them,  but  unfortu 
nately  several  of  the  men  were  killed  and  wounded  in 
the  attempt,  which  resulted  in  their  obtaining  enough 
water  to  somewhat  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  com 
mand. 

About  noonday  the  Indians  began  to  withdraw 
and  cease  firing,  going  off  in  the  direction  of  their 
villages,  and  during  this  lull  in  the  action  the  men 
rushed  down  to  the  river  arid  filled  their  canteens  and 
every  other  vessel  they  had  with  water,  although  a 
few  of  the  Indian  sharpshooters  annoyed  them  some 
what  by  firing  at  them.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the 
Indians  fired  the  grass  in  the  lowlands,  and  under  cover 
of  the  smoke  began  to  move  off  with  their  villages, 
and  later  in  the  day  a  good  view  was  had  by  the  troops 
of  the  immense  cavalcade,  numbering  at  least  four,  if 
not  five  thousand  warriors,  as  it  slowly  wound  over 
the  hills  toward  the  Big  Horn  Mountains.  Nothing 
had  been  heard  from  Ouster  since  Reno  left  him,  and 
many  wrere  the  surmises  as  to  where  he  had  gone  and 
what  had  become  of  him. 

The  night  of  the  26th  passed  without  any  notice 
able  event,  Reno  having  slightly  changed  his  location 


' 


Arrival  of  Tcrrv's  column  on  the  Caster  battlefield. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  327 

so  as  to  insure  a  water  supply.  On  the  27th  the  dust 
of  a  moving  column  was  seen  to  be  approaching,  and 
shortly  a  scout  arrived  with  a  note  from  General  Terry 
(who  was  coming  up  with  Gibbon's  column),  saying  that 
Crow  scouts  had  reported  Ouster  whipped,  but  their  re 
port  was  not  believed.  At  eleven  o'clock  General  Terry 
rode  into  Reno's  intrenchments.  Two  hours  later  the 
fate  of  Ouster  and  his  command  was  known.  General 
Sheridan,  in  his  official  report,  tersely  sums  up  all  that 
we  actually  know  of  the  affair  in  these  words:  "  The 
only  real  evidence  of  how  they  came  to  meet  their  fate 
was  the  testimony  of  the  field  where  it  overtook  them, 
...  no  officer  or  soldier  who  rode  with  him  into  the 
valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  having  lived  to  tell  the 
tale." 

From  the  point  where  Eeno  crossed  the  river  Ous 
ter's  trail  led  down  the  right  bank  of  the  stream,  be 
hind  the  bluffs,  for  nearly  three  miles,  where  he  evi 
dently  attempted  a  crossing.  Here  it  turns  upon  itself, 
and  after  almost  completing  a  circle  crosses.  It  was 
lined  by  the  bodies  of  dead  officers,  men,  and  horses 
just  as  they  fell  beneath  the  deadly  bullets  of  the 
Sioux,  now  and  then  accentuated  at  the  foot  of  a  ravine 
or  on  the  top  of  a  knoll  with  a  line  of  dead  men  and 
horses,  showing  where  some  one  of  the  troops  had  made 
its  last  stand.  As  a  general  thing,  all  the  bodies  had 
been  stripped,  badly  mutilated,  and  scalped.  Our  losses 
in  this  action  were  General  Ouster  and  thirteen  com 
missioned  officers  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  men 
killed  and  two  officers  and  fifty-one  men  wounded,  a 
total  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  killed  and 
wounded.  General  Ouster  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
adverse  criticism  in  this  his  closing  campaign.  Without 


328  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

impugning  the  motives  of  any  of  his  critics,  the  writer 
asks  their  attention  to  the  following  facts: 

General  Custer  joined  his  regiment  after  the  cam 
paign  was  well  under  way.  The  last  newspaper  articles 
about  the  affairs  at  Eed  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  and  other 
Northern  Indian  agencies  that  he  could  have  seen  be 
fore  he  left  civilization  for  the  upper  Missouri  stated 
that  none  of  the  agency  Indians  had  gone  to  join  the 
hostiles  under  Crazy  Horse  or  Sitting  Bull,  but  that 
they  were  still  at  the  agencies  drawing  rations.  Cer 
tainly  upon  the  day  when  he  received  his  final  instruc 
tions  from  General  Terry — he  could  not  possibly  have 
known  of  General  Crook's  fight  on  the  Rosebud  and 
the  fact  that  Crazy  Horse  and  his  following  had  joined 
Sitting  Bull  on  the  Little  Big  Horn. 

If  the  agency  Indians  had  not  joined  Sitting  Bull 
it  was  safe  enough  to  conclude  that  he  could  not  bring 
a  thousand  warriors  into  the  field. 

Was  General  Terry's  order  to  Custer  of  sufficient 
latitude  to  permit  him  clearly  within  its  scope  to  at 
tack  Sitting  Bull's  force?  Let  us  see.  "The  depart 
ment  commander  places  too  much  confidence  in  your 
zeal,  energy,  and  ability  to  wish  to  impose  upon  you 
precise  orders  which  might  hamper  your  action  when 
nearly  in  contact  with  the  enemy." 

Now,  from  Custer's  standpoint,  how  must  things 
have  impressed  him?  He  had  a  regiment  seven  hun 
dred  strong,  well  and  capably  officered.  Sitting  Bull 
could  not,  in  all  probability,  muster  a  thousand  war 
riors.*  If  the  published  reports  from  the  Indian  agen- 

*  On  July  22,  1876,  at  the  repeated  and  earnest  request  of 
General  Sheridan,  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Interior  au 
thorized  the  military  to  assume  control  of  all t the  Indian  agencies 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  329 

cies  were  true,  five  hundred  would  be  nearer  the  mark. 
It  was  almost  certain  that  some  of  Sitting  Bull's  war 
riors  had  seen  or  would  see  Ouster's  column  before  he 
could  communicate  with  Terry  or  Gibbon,  in  which  case 
he  would  probably  decamp.  He  was  "nearly  in  con 
tact  with  the  enemy." 

Under  the  peculiar  condition  of  affairs,  bearing  in 
mind  the  only  information  he  could  possibly  have  had 
concerning  Sitting  Bull's  forces,  was  Ouster  justified,  in 
a  military  sense  and  within  the  scope  of  his  orders,  in 
making  the  attack? 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  he  was  within  his 
orders  and  fully  justified  from  a  military  standpoint  in 
so  doing. 

in  the  Sioux  country.  A  careful  count  was  made  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  The  Indians  at  Red  Cloud  agency  numbered  only  forty- 
seven  hundred  and  sixty,  nearly  one  half  less  than  had  been  re 
ported  by  the  agent  and  to  whom  issues  were  made.  The  count 
at  Spotted  Tail's  agency  developed  less  than  five  thousand, 
whereas  nearly  double  that  number  had  been  constantly  issued 
to.  A  count  at  the  Missouri  River  agencies  exhibited  the  fact 
that  there  were  present  from  one  half  to  one  third  less  than  had 
been  reported  present  and  (ostensibly)  issued  to.  It  was  then 
easy  to  see  where  the  small  bands  originally,  and  upon  whom  the 
war  was  being  waged,  obtained  their  strength  and  supplies. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE    CLOSE    OF   THE    SIOUX   CAMPAIGN    AND   THE   NEZ 
PERCES'    WONDERFUL    FLIGHT. 

AT  this  late  day  it  is  difficult  to  get  an  absolutely  cor 
rect  idea  of  the  Sioux  campaign  of  1876  and  its  attend 
ant  difficulties,  together  with  the  hardships  endured 
by  the  men,  as  well  as  all  the  risks  and  hard  knocks  of 
the  campaign,  so  in  addition  to  the  War  Department 
official  reports  covering  the  operations  of  the  troops  in 
this  movement  I  am  also  under  obligations  for  graphic 
descriptions  of  the  fight  at  Slim  Buttes  and  some  inci 
dents  of  the  hardships  of  the  march  to  both  the  Hon. 
John  F.  Finerty  (former  correspondent  of  the  Chicago 
Times,  and  author  of  War  Path  and  Bivouac;  or,  The 
Conquest  of  the  Sioux,  published  for  the  author,  79 
Dearborn  Street,  Chicago,  1890)  and  Captain  Charles 
King,  U.  S.  A.  (author  of  Campaigning  with  Crook. 
Harper  &  Brothers,  Franklin  Square,  New  York,  1890), 
as  well  as  to  officers  and  enlisted  men  who  have  occa 
sionally  given  me  information  bound  up  in  personal 
experience  not  to  be  found  in  official  reports  or  re 
corded  in  published  narratives. 

General  Crook  had  refitted  his  command  since  the 
battle  on  the  Rosebud,  and  on  August  3d,  while  on 
Goose  Creek,  he  was  joined  by  General  Merritt  with  the 
330 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        33! 

Fifth  Cavalry,  making  Crook's  effective  force  nearly 
two  thousand  fighting  men.  On  August  4th  the  com 
mand  moved  out,  each  man  with  the  suit  he  had  on  only 
—no  change  of  clothing  being  allowed — but  each  sol 
dier  carried  on  his  person  four  days'  rations,  one  hun 
dred  rounds  of  ammunition,,  a  single  blanket,  and  a 
poncho  (a  waterproof  piece  of  rubber-covered  canvas). 
On  this  new  march  General  Merritt  became  chief  of 
cavalry.  Colonel  Royall  retained  his  old  command  of 
the  Second  and  Third  Cavalry.  General  Carr  led  the 
Fifth  Cavalry.  The  twenty-five  companies  were  formed 
into  five  battalions.  Frank  Gruard  and  Buffalo  Bill 
were  in  advance  with  a  select  body  of  scouts.  Colonel 
Stanton,  paymaster,  had  chief  command  of  the  irregu 
lars  (enlisted  Indians),  while  Major  Randall,  with  Chief 
Washakie,  directed  the  Shoshone  Indians. 

On  August  llth  Finerty  writes: 

"We  had  no  tents,  and  had  to  sleep  in  puddles. 
The  rain  kept  pouring  down  until  the  afternoon  of 
the  succeeding  day,  retarding  our  march  and  making 
every  man  of  the  command  feel  as  if  possessed  of  a 
devil.  Officers  and  men  slept  in  rain  and  dirt,  drank 
coarse  coffee  and  ate  hardtack  and  raw  bacon." 

August  13th: 

"  The  rain  and  mud  made  the  marching  terrible, 
and  some  of  Terry's  young  infantry  (recruits) — they 
had  met  General  Terry's  command,  and  remained  and 
marched  with  it  for  some  days — lay  down  exhausted 
in  the  dirt.  Many  of  them  had  to  be  placed  on  pack 
mules  or  carried  on  travois.  .  .  .  Every  company  of  the 
Second,  Third,  and  Fifth  Cavalry  had  to  abandon  or 
shoot  used-up  horses.  .  .  .  We  made  thirty  miles  over 
a  most  infernal  country  before  halting.  Chambers's 


332  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

'  astonishing  infantry  '  made  the  full  march — not  a  man 
fell  out  of  ranks.  .  .  .  The  Roman  legions  or  the  army 
of  Austerlitz  never  made  better  time  than  the  splendid 
detachments  of  the  Fourth,  Fourteenth,  and  Ninth  In 
fantry.  .  .  .  There  was  very  little  wood.  We  had  to 
sleep  at  night  in  pools  of  water,  thankful  to  get  a 
chance  to  lie  down." 

On  August  15th  he  says: 

"  The  horses  staggered  in  the  columns  by  scores. 
Very  frequently  a  played-out  horse  would  fall  as  if  shot. 
Dozens  of  dismounted  cavalrymen  toiled  painfully 
along  over  steep,  rugged  hills  in  the  rear  of  the  col 
umn.  .  .  .  Our  whole  line  of  march  was  dotted  with 
dead  or  abandoned  horses.  Some  of  the  newly  enlisted 
infantry  grew  desperate,  their  feet  bleeding  and  their 
legs  swollen  from  the  continuous  tramp.  .  .  .  Many  of 
the  young  foot  soldiers  seemed  injured  for  life. 

"  Gibbon's  men  marched  like  Romans,  Chambers's 
men  rivalled  O'Leary  and  Weston  (but  these  were  all 
veterans)." 

August  24th: 

"  Thunder  and  everlasting  wet  had  pursued  us,  but 
the  night  of  August  23,  1876,  was  the  most  utterly 
miserable  so  far  experienced.  We  went  into  camp  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  our  first  bivouac  in  some  low 
lands  under  a  range  of  sand  hills  flooded  with  water 
and  fully  a  mile  from  wood.  Clothing  and  blankets 
thoroughly  soaked,  having  neither  tents  nor  camp  fires. 
To  keep  dry  was  impossible;  to  keep  warm  equally  so, 
for  a  cold  north  wind  set  in  at  nightfall." 

August  27th: 

"The  rain  and  heat  of  the  bivouac  fires  had  so 
shrunken  my  boots  that  I  could  not  remove  them.  I 
was  afraid  to  do  so  because  I  would  have  been  unable 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.       333 

to  get  them  on  again.    Several  men  did  not  have  their 
boots  off  for  two  weeks  at  least." 

August  28th: 

"  That  night  we  had  thunder,  lightning,  and  a 
deluge.  The  horses  sank  in  the  mud  up  to  their  knee 
joints.  Soldiers'  shoes  were  pulled  off  in  trying  to  drag 
their  feet  through  the  sticky  slime.  (  Can  hell  be  much 
worse  than  this?'  said  an  officer  to  me  next  morning. 
He  was  cleaning  about  twenty  pounds  of  wet  clay  from 
his  boots  with  a  butcher  knife.  His  clothes  were  drip 
ping,  his  teeth  chattering,  and  his  nose  a  cross  between 
purple  and  indigo.  If  looking  like  the  devil  could  make 
a  man  fit  for  the  region  he  inquired  about  that  young 
lieutenant  was  a  most  eligible  candidate. 

"  If  any  reader  considers  this  picture  overdrawn 
I  call  upon  any  man  in  that  column,  from  General 
Crook  down  to  the  humblest  private,  to  contradict  me. 
I  wish  to  let  the  American  people  know  what  their  gal 
lant  army  had  to  undergo  in  fighting  these  red  scoun 
drels  who  have  too  long  been  treated  as  chiefs  and 
equals.  .  .  .  Crook  is  severe,  and  I'd  rather  be  with 
Terry  as  regards  food,  shelter,  and  clean  flannel,  but  he 
goes  for  the  Indians  as  one  of  themselves  would  do,  and 
has  shown  that  an  American  army  can  stand  without 
much  growling  or  the  slightest  approach  to  mutiny 
more  than  any  other  troops  upon  this  earth." 

Nevertheless  worse  was  to  come.  Up  to  this  time 
General  Crook's  command  had  always  had  enough  to 
eat,  such  as  it  was;  but  hunting  the  Sioux  through  Mon 
tana  had  exhausted  the  rations  of  the  command.  On 
the  4th  of  September  it  was  decided  to  move  to  Dead- 
wood,  in  Dakota,  where  supplies  would  be  sent  to  meet 
them.  It  was  two  hundred  miles  distant,  and  the  com 
mand  had  only  two  and  a  half  days'  half  rations  on 


334  TIIE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

hand.  They  must  he  made  to  last  seven  days  somehow, 
so  the  troops  were  put  on  quarter  rations,  and  the 
column  was  put  in  motion  for  the  Black  Hills. 

But  instead  of  the  weather  becoming  better  it  seemed 
to  grow  worse.  The  rain  was  incessant,  and  the  country 
through  which  the  troops  were  now  marching  was  very 
rough.  The  grass  had  been  burned  off  by  the  Sioux, 
firewood  was  very  scarce,  and  what  could  be  found  was 
so  water  soaked  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  kindle 
a  fire  with  which  to  cook  the  poor  remnant  of  their 
rations,  and  the  rations  of  both  sugar  and  salt  were 
finally  completely  washed  out  of  the  pack  saddles.  The 
men  ate  their  last  hardtack  on  September  6th,  and  so  on 
that  day  the  horses  which  had  to  be  shot  or  abandoned 
on  the  trail  were  butchered  and  the  flesh  issued  as  a 
meat  ration.  It  was  very  tough  meat,  but  very  much 
better  than  nothing,  in  fact,  it  was  that  or  nothing. 
The  next  night,  September  7th,  Captain  King  writes  as 
follows:  "  We  were  halted  near  the  head  of  Grand  River. 
Here  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the  Third 
Cavalry,  with  about  all  the  serviceable  horses  of  that 
regiment,  were  pushed  ahead  under  Major  Anson  Mills, 
with  orders  to  find  the  Black  Hills,  buy  up  all  the  sup 
plies  he  could  in  Deadwood,  and  then  hurry  back  to 
meet  us." 

Before  the  command  had  broken  camp  on  the 
next  morning  after  Major  Mills  had  started  for  the 
Black  Hills  settlements  to  obtain  supplies  for  the 
hungry  troops  a  courier  came  post  haste  to  General 
Crook  with  the  information  that  Mills  had  cut  the 
trail  of  some  Sioux,  followed  it,  and  attacked  and 
captured  a  village  of  forty  lodges,  the  Indian  pony 
herd,  and  a  large  amount  of  supplies,  and  was  now 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.       335 

holding  it  against  an  attempt  by  the  Sioux  to  recap 
ture  it. 

Here  was  a  good  specimen  of  an  American  officer. 
He  was  on  his  way  with  a  detachment  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  to  bring  supplies  to  an  almost  starving 
command.  His  own  men  were  without  rations,  and  his 
horses  worn  to  the  bone  and  so  weak  that  it  was  a  ques 
tion  whether  they  could  all  get  through  to  Deadwood. 
But  here  was  an  opportunity  for  a  blow  at  the  Sioux, 
whom  the  whole  command  had  been  hunting  for  weeks 
past.  It  involved  hard  fighting  with  a  small  force,  with 
an  equal  chance  of  victory  or  defeat.  Mills  was  not 
the  man  to  hesitate  on  an  equal  chance,  and  he  knew 
that  even  if  he  should  be  defeated  General  Crook's 
forces  would  get  through  to  Deadwood  somehow,  and  so 
he  abandoned  the  road  to  Deadwood,  and  promptly  took 
up  the  trail  for  the  enemy.  It  was  soon  evident  that 
he  was  approaching  an  Indian  village,  and  he  moved 
carefully  and  cautiously,  sending  his  scout  Frank  Gruard 
ahead  on  the  trail  to  reconnoitre.  At  dark  he  went  into 
camp,  and  then  felt  his  way  forward  with  Gruard  and  a 
few  soldiers  until  he  had  located  the  village,  which  was 
several  miles  beyond  where  his  own  men  lay.  Before 
daylight  his  command  had  quietly  moved  up  to  within 
a  mile  or  so  of  the  Indian  village,  where  he  dismounted 
all  his  men  except  twenty-five,  under  Lieutenant 
Schwatka.  With  these  dismounted  men  he  crept  up 
to  the  ravine  in  which  the  village  was  located,  and  as 
soon  as  his  dismounted  men  were  in  position  he  ordered 
Lieutenant  Schwatka  to  charge  in  and  capture  the  pony 
herd,  which  was  grazing  outside  of  the  Indian  encamp 
ment.  The  herd  stampeded,  and  before  Schwatka  could 
capture  them  all  part  of  them  rushed  into  the  Indian 


336  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

village  and  awoke  the  sleeping  warriors.  At  the  same 
time  Lieutenants  Von  Lcutwitz  and  Crawford,  each  at 
the  head  of  fifty  dismounted  troopers,  rushed  into  the 
village  from  either  side  and  opened  fire  on  the  tepees, 
and  quickly  drove  out  the  surprised  Sioux,  who  after  a 
desultory  fight  broke  for  the  neighbouring  hills  and 
ravines,  in  which  they  took  refuge  and  cover,  and  in 
turn  opened  fire  on  the  troops,  who  had  now  occupied 
and  were  holding  their  captured  village.  As  soon  as 
Major  Mills  had  secured  possession  of  it  he  found  it 
was  filled  with  an  abundance  of  dried  meat  and  other 
Indian  supplies,  and  he  also  realized  that  he  would 
have  hard  work  to  hold  it,  as  the  Sioux  were  already 
beginning  to  increase  in  number  on  the  adjacent  hills, 
and  he  knew  that  this  camp  must  be  only  an  outlying 
one  of  the  main  body  of  Sioux,  which  was  probably 
within  less  than  a  day's  journey.  Accordingly,  he  hur 
ried  off  despatches  to  General  Crook,  threw  up  rifle 
pits  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village  to  protect  his  men, 
brought  forward  his  own  pack  train,  and  corralled  his 
horses,  the  pack  mules,  and  Indian  ponies  under  guard 
in  the  middle  of  the  village,  and  proposed  to  hold  on 
all  he  knew  until  General  Crook's  arrival.  In  a  few 
moments  after  receiving  Mills's  despatch  General  Crook, 
at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cavalrymen,  was 
in  the  saddle  and  on  the  way  to  Mills's  assistance,  with 
orders  for  the  rest  of  the  command  to  push  on  steadily 
after  him.  In  the  meantime  the  Sioux  were  most  tena 
cious  in  their  attempt  to  regain  their  village,  and  Mills 
had  to  use  all  his  ability  and  skill  to  keep  possession 
of  what  he  had  captured.  A  little  after  eleven  o'clock, 
however,  General  Crook  came  riding  in  to  his  assistance 
with  his  re-enforcement  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men; 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        337 

much,  to  Mills's  relief,  for,  with  plenty  of  ammunition, 
which  the  re-enforcements  brought  up,  three  hundred 
soldiers,  and  forty  armed  packers,  which  now  made  up 
the  united  forces,  they  could  stand  off  all  the  warriors 
that  the  Sioux  could  bring  against  them  until  the  ar 
rival  of  the  main  column,  which  they  knew  was  some 
where  on  the  road  steadily  plodding  on  in  their  direc 
tion. 

General  Crook  had  scarcely  dismounted  when  his 
attention  was  arrested  by  a  sharp  action  that  was  going 
on  between  a  small  part  of  Major  Mills's  command  which 
was  trying  to  force  the  surrender  of  some  Indians  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  a  small  cavern  located  in  a  deep 
bush-overgrown  gully  at  one  end  of  their  village, 
thrown  up  rifle  pits  at  its  mouth  with  their  hands  and 
knives,  and,  despite  the  fact  that  the  troops  had  already 
had  several  casualties  in  killed  and  wounded,  were  still 
holding  their  own  against  them.  Stopping  the  fight, 
he  first  (through  the  interpreters)  demanded  their  sur 
render,  but  he  got  the  same  reply  that  they  had  given 
Major  Mills — jeers  and  defiance;  for  the  Indians  believed 
that  if  they  could  hold  out  that  succour  would  surely 
reach  them  from  their  friends,  who  they  knew  would 
soon  come  to  their  rescue.  General  Crook,  who  was 
undoubtedly  the  most  experienced  Indian  fighter  on  the 
ground,  and  who  had  seen  much  of  this  sort  of  fighting, 
brigadier  general  and  department  commander  though 
he  was,  promptly  assumed  command  of  the  attacking 
force,  and  as  Finerty,  who  witnessed  the  fight,  says,  "  he 
displayed  to  the  fullest  extent  his  eccentric  contempt 
for  danger.  No  private  soldier  could  more  expose  him 
self  than  did  the  general  and  the  officers  of  his  staff.  I 
expected  to  see  them  shot  down  every  moment."  It  was 


338  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  hot  fight.  The  savages  simply  would  not  surrender. 
Some  of  the  pluckiest  and  best  officers  on  the  frontier 
outside  of  General  Crook  took  part  in  it.  Major  Mills, 
Lieutenants  Charles  King,  Philo  Clarke,  and  J.  G. 
Bourke  of  the  cavalry,  and  Majors  J.  H.  Powell,  Burke, 
and  Munson  of  the  infantry,  were  all  there  leading  the 
men  and  fighting  by  their  side,  carbine  in  hand,  and 
time  and  again  they  swarmed  up  around  the  little 
ravine  only  to  realize  that  it  would  be  death  to  attempt 
to  go  in  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  Finally  General 
Crook,  annoyed  and  exasperated  at  the  casualties  among 
his  men,  formed  a  cordon  of  both  infantry  and  cavalry 
around  the  mouth  of  the  ravine  and  opened  an  incessant 
rain  of  fire  into  it.  In  a  few  moments  the  squaws  began 
chanting  the  death  song,  and  the  wails  of  the  children 
were  piteous.  A  suspension  of  the  attack  was  immedi 
ately  ordered,  and  the  interpreters  offered  quarter  and 
good  treatment  for  the  women  and  children  if  the  war 
riors  would  let  them  come  out.  In  a  few  moments  this 
was  accepted,  and  General  Crook  stepped  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  ravine  and  gave  his  hand  to  the  first  squaw 
who  came  out.  She  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  woman,  with 
a  papoose  strapped  to  her  back.  Evidently  very  much 
frightened,  and  probably  from  some  Indian's  descrip 
tion,  she  instantly  recognised  the  Gray  Fox,  as  all  the 
Indians  termed  General  Crook,  and  clung  to  his  hand 
with  all  her  strength,  knowing  from  his  reputation  that 
he  would  protect  her,  and  undoubtedly  fearing  that 
some  of  the  now  thoroughly  angered  enlisted  men 
might  take  vengeance  on  her.  Eleven  other  squaws 
and  six  children  soon  followed  her,  but  the  warriors  re 
fused  to  surrender,  and  as  soon  as  the  women  and  chil 
dren  were  safely  away,  courageously  if  desperately 


Surrender  of  American  Horse. 


(See  page  339.) 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        339 

opened  fire  on  the  troops  and  once  more  began  the 
fight.  For  two  long  hours  the  soldiers  sent  bullets 
into  the  little  ravine,  and  then,  noticing  a  partial  re 
laxation  in  the  volume  of  fire  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
General  Crook  ordered  a  third  cessation  of  hostilities, 
and  once  more  summoned  them  to  surrender.  After  a 
few  moments  of  evident  consultation,  American  Horse, 
a  tall,  broad-shouldered  Sioux  chief,  with  a  chest  and 
neck  like  a  bull  buffalo,  came  slowly  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  and,  noticing  where  General  Crook  stood, 
came  haltingly  forward  and  presented  him  his  rifle,  butt 
foremost,  in  token  of  complete  surrender,  and  asked  for 
the  lives  of  the  warriors  who  had  fought  with  him.  As 
for  himself,  he  was  mortally  wounded,  having  been  shot 
through  the  abdomen.  Through  his  interpreter  Gen 
eral  Crook  assured  him  that  if  they  would  surrender 
neither  he  nor  his  warriors  would  be  harmed;  ac 
cordingly,  American  Horse  beckoned  to  them,  and  the 
few  warriors  that  were  left  came  out  and  gave  up  their 
arms  and  the  fight  was  over.  Among  the  men  whom 
we  lost  in  this  affair  was  quite  a  noted  scout,  Jim  White, 
a  man  who  used  to  follow  around  W.  F.  Cody — Buffalo 
Bill — like  his  shadow,  and  so  far  as  he  could  do  so 
imitate  him  in  dress  and  bearing.  White  was  plucky 
and  brave,  but  without  anything  like  the  ability  or 
experience  of  Cody  as  a  guide,  fighter,  and  frontiers 
man.  Dried  buffalo  meat  was  found  in  abundance  in 
the  Indian  tents  and  distributed  to  the  main  command 
as  it  defiled  into  the  Indian  village  at  about  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  just  as  the  fight  with  American  Horse 
was  over.  Crook  now  had  nearly  two  thousand  fighting 
men  for  duty,  and  no  apprehension  was  felt  as  to  Crazy 
Horse  and  his  warriors,  so  the  whole  command  was  un- 


340  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

saddled  and  the  horses  turned  out  to  graze  on  the  first 
mouthful  of  fairly  good  grass  that  they  had  seen  for 
many  days.  The  superhly  brave  chief  American  Horse 
was  taken  to  the  hospital  tent,  and  the  surgeons  did 
what  they  could  to  assuage  his  sufferings,  but  before  the 
light  of  another  day  his  soul  had  sought  the  happy  hunt 
ing  grounds  of  his  race  and  people.  As  a  chief  he  stood 
high,  and  deservedly  so,  among  the  Sioux,  and  his  death 
was  a  distinct  loss  to  his  tribe  at  this  especial  juncture. 
In  this  Indian  village  were  found  five  horses  of  the 
Seventh  Cavalry  and  one  of  the  regimental  guidons 
carried  by  Ouster's  ill-fated  command,  together  with 
Colonel  Miles  Keogli's  gauntlets  and  several  other 
relics  of  the  annihilated  battalion  of  the  Seventh  Cav 
alry.  At  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Crazy 
Horse  and  six  or  eight  hundred  warriors  made  an  at 
tack  on  General  Crook's  forces  with  the  intent  to  rescue 
American  Horse  and  his  village.  lie  had  probably  hur 
ried  to  the  rescue  with  what  warriors  he  had  near  him 
at  the  first  information  that  reached  him  from  Ameri 
can  Horse,  and  as  the  Indians  who  had  notified  him 
had  counted  Mills's  forces  only,  he  now  came  dashing 
down  from  the  hills  confident  in  his  own  strength  and 
determined  to  make  short  work  of  Mills  and  his  com 
mand.  In  a  few  moments  the  whole  of  General  Crook's 
forces  were  moving  to  meet  him.  It  was  too  late,  and 
the  worn-out  horses  were  too  tired  to  follow  the  In 
dians  that  day,  so  everything  in  the  way  of  animals 
was  quickly  put  under  cover  in  one  of  the  inlying 
ravines,  and  the  infantry  and  all  the  cavalry  dis 
mounted  promptly  moved  out  and  hurried  up  the  hill 
sides  as  skirmishers.  At  first  Crazy  Horse  and  his 
mounted  warriors  moved  boldly  upon  them,  but  in 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        341 

about  an  hour  the  astonished  and  discomfited  savages 
gave  way  and  took  cover.  Where  all  the  men  that 
suddenly  poured  out  of  the  little  valley  and  con 
fronted  him  came  from  must  have  sorely  puzzled  the 
doughty  Indian  chief,  but  after  he  had  lost  a  few 
killed  and  a  number  wounded  he  recognised  the  fact 
that  General  Crook's  forces  were  too  strong  for  his 
command  to  fight  successfully,  and,  accordingly,  he 
gave  orders  to  retreat,  and  at  dark  the  Sioux  sullenly 
fell  back  into  the  hills  and  gave  up  the  contest. 

It  had  been  a  skirmishing  fight  only,  with  about 
thirty  casualties  altogether  upon  our  side,  but  Mills's 
plucky  fight  of  the  morning  had  given  the  whole  com 
mand  something  to  eat,  and  it  held  the  Indian  village 
with  all  its  paraphernalia  and  three  hundred  fine  In 
dian  ponies  besides,  while  the  Indians,  killed  and 
wounded  outnumbered  ours  two  to  one.  It  had  been 
the  best  day  of  this  campaign,  and  all  the  well  men 
bivouacked  contentedly.  But  in  this  book  we  can 
spend  only  a  few  lines  more  on  this  Sioux  campaign. 
General  Crook's  troops  met  supplies  sent  out  to  meet 
them  while  they  were  encamped  on  Willow  Creek  on 
the  morning  of  September  13th,  and  a  few  days  later 
they  were  in  the  frontier  settlement  of  Deadwood,  Da 
kota,  and  the  hardships  of  this  year's  campaign  against 
the  Indians  were  over. 

Once  on  the  war  path,  however,  the  Sioux  had  to  be 
fought  to  a  finish,  and  on  October  21,  1876,  Colonel 
Miles  (now  Lieutenant-General  Miles),  in  a  council 
near  Big  Dog  Eiver,  held  at  the  request  of  Sitting 
Bull,  offered  him  peace  if  he  would  come  into  the 
reservation  on  the  terms  offered  by  the  Indian  Bureau. 
This  he  flatly  refused  to  do,  and,  on  being  told  that  his 
S3 


342  THE  STORY  OF  TUB  SOLDIER. 

refusal  would  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  hostility,  he  and 
his  warriors  instantly  took  up  a  position  for  a  fight. 
General  Miles,  notwithstanding  Sitting  Bull's  forces 
greatly  outnumbered  his  command,  promptly  attacked, 
defeated,  and  drove  the  Indians  in  a  running  fight  for 
nearly  forty  miles.  Sitting  Bull,  however,  with  part 
of  his  warriors  escaped  across  the  lines  into  British  ter 
ritory,  but  on  October  27th  over  four  hundred  lodges 
of  Sitting  Bull's  following  with  about  two  thousand 
men,  women,  and  children  surrendered  to  General  Miles 
and  were  placed  on  one  of  the  Indian  reservations. 

On  January  8,  1877,  General  Miles  had  a  san 
guinary  fight  on  the  Tongue  Kiver  with  Crazy  Horse 
and  six  hundred  warriors,  the  Indians  occupying  a 
canon  in  a  spur  of  the  Wolf  Mountain  range.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  snow  and  ice  to  a  depth  in 
some  places  of  over  three  feet,  and  the  latter  part  of 
the  engagement  was  fought  in  a  blinding  snowstorm, 
"  the  troops  stumbling  and  falling  in  scaling  the  ice- 
and  snow-covered  cliffs,"  from  which  the  Indians  were 
finally  driven  by  repeated  charges,  with  a  serious  loss 
to  them  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  were  followed  by 
the  troops  through  the  Wolf  Mountains  toward  the 
Big  Horn  range.  As  a  direct  result  of  this  winter's 
campaign,  Crazy  Horse,  Little  Wolf,  and  others  of  the 
hostiles  came  in  and  surrendered  at  Spotted  Tail  and 
Red  Cloud  agencies  during  the  months  of  April  and 
May  of  that  year,  Crazy  Horse  bringing  in  and  surren 
dering  with  himself  at  the  Red  Cloud  agency  over  two 
thousand  Indians. 

During  the  ensuing  four  years  there  was  almost 
constant  trouble  with  some  of  the  bands  of  hostile 
Sioux,  but  our  troops  steadily  followed  them  on  the 


THE  NBZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      343 

war  path,  and,  after  severe  fighting,  they  were  com 
pelled  to  surrender  to  our  forces  and  come  into  the 
Indian  agencies  and  take  up  their  abode  on  the  reserva 
tions.  Sitting  Bull  himself,  however,  for  a  long  time 
kept  within  the  British  possessions  and  well  beyond 
our  reach  until  July  20, 1881,  when,  worn  out  with  anx 
iety,  his  influence  gone,  and  his  following  reduced  to 
comparatively  a  mere  handful,  he  came  into  Fort  Bu- 
ford,  Dakota,  and  surrendered  to  the  commanding  offi 
cer,  together  with  forty-five  warriors,  sixty-seven 
women,  and  seventy-three  children,  glad  to  abandon 
the  war  path  on  assurance  of  his  personal  safety.  To 
recount  in  detail  the  Indian  fighting  upon  our  fron 
tier  during  the  last  thirty-five  years  would  carry  this 
book  far  beyond  the  limits  within  which  it  must  be 
kept,  and  as  one  Indian  fight  is  in  many  respects  simi 
lar  to  another  it  would  only  weary  the  reader. 


The  Fez  Perce  campaign  of  1877,  of  which  I  am 
about  to  write,  began  in  the  Territory  of  Idaho  on  the 
Pacific  slope  west  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  and 
finished  at  the  north  end  of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains 
in  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  the  Indians  in  their  flight 
and  the  soldiers  in  their  pursuit  having  in  the  mean 
time  crossed  three  ranges  of  mountains  (the  Bitter 
Root,  the  Rocky,  and  the  Snow  ranges)  and  passed 
through  portions  of  the  Territories  of  Idaho,  Wyoming, 
and  Montana  to  Dakota. 

The  campaign  was  the  outcome  of  Chief  Joseph  of 
the  nontreaties — ISTez  Perce  Indians — refusing  to  give 
up  the  Wallula  Valley  in  Idaho  to  settlement  by  the 
whites  and  with  the  other  bands  of  the  Nez  Perce  In- 


344  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

dians  go  upon  and  occupy  either  the  Nez  Perce  or  the 
Lapwai  Keservations.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Wallula 
Valley  was  not  the  fixed  residence  of  Chief  Joseph, 
White-Bird,  or  Too-hul-hul-Sote,  the  head  men  of  the 
nontreaty  Nez  Perces — that  is,  of  those  Indians  of  the 
Nez  Perce  tribes  who  would  not  accept  the  reservation 
system.  It  was  a  splendid  hunting  ground,  though,  and 
capable  of  fine  development  agriculturally.  Brigadier- 
General  0.  0.  Howard,  the  commander  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  Columbia,  which  included  the  Nez  Perce 
tribe  within  its  geographical  limits,  was  somewhat  ap 
prehensive  of  trouble  with  the  nontreaty  Indians,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  persuade  these  Indians  to  accept 
the  treaty  as  agreed  to  by  the  main  body  and  come  and 
live  upon  the  Lapwai  Reservation.  Chief  Joseph  seemed 
at  the  time  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  do  so — in  fact, 
he  tacitly  agreed  to  do  so,  but  asked  for  thirty  days,  or 
until  June  14th,  in  which  to  persuade  his  people  to  that 
end,  and  everything  seemed  to  be  fairly  and  peacefully 
settled,  but  on  the  date  named  (June  14,  1877),  instead 
of  entering  upon  the  Lapwai  Reservation,  his  following 
began  murdering,  plundering,  and  outraging  the  set 
tlers  and  their  families  at  Cottonwood,  Idaho,  and  along 
the  banks  of  the  Salmon  River.  General  Howard,  who 
was  at  Fort  Lapwai,  at  once  threw  forward  Captain 
Perry  with  two  small  troops  of  cavalry,  numbering 
ninety  men,  all  the  available  force  then  at  the  post,  to 
the  defence  of  the  settlers  at  Mount  Idaho,  upon  which 
hamlet  they  were  concentrating,  with  orders  to  find  and 
attack  Chief  Joseph  and  his  band  if  he  was  in  the 
vicinity.  Captain  Perry  with  his  command  and  pack 
train  left  Fort  Lapwai  on  the  night  of  the  15th  of  June, 
and,  having  crossed  Craig's  Mountain,  he  reached 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      345 

Grangeville,  fifty-eight  miles  distant,  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  16th.  Here  he  received  information  that  Chief 
Joseph  was  at  White  Bird  Canon,  sixteen  miles  dis 
tant.  Accompanied  by  ten  armed  citizens,  he  made  a 
night  march  for  that  place,  and  came  in  sight  of  Jo 
seph's  camp  a  little  after  daybreak.  It  was  about  four 
miles  distant,  and  he  at  once  moved  down  the  moun 
tain  to  the  attack.  Joseph's  force,  which  outnumbered 
his  nearly  if  not  quite  three  to  one,  and  was  equally  as 
well  armed,  perceived  his  advance,  and  at  once  made 
preparations  to  meet  him.  Joseph  sent  White  Bird  to 
attack  Captain  Perry's  force  in  flank,  while  he  lay  in 
ambush,  covering  the  place  that  Perry's  men  would 
most  likely  attempt  to  occupy.  The  result  was  that 
after  a  severe  fight  Perry's  troops  were  beaten  and 
driven  back,  losing  Lieutenant  Theller  and  thirty-three 
men  killed.  Captain  Perry  got  the  rest  of  his  men  to 
gether,  however,  and  fell  back  coolly — so  much  so  that 
the  Indians  had  no  stomach  to  follow  him  far.  He  went 
to  Grangeville  to  give  protection  to  the  people  assem 
bled  there,  refit  his  command,  and  ask  for  re-enforce 
ments. 

Chief  Joseph  had  shown  himself  a  capable  leader, 
and  naturally  his  following  was  very  much  elated 
over  their  first  fight  with  the  soldiers.  General  How 
ard  hurried  forward  what  troops  he  could  get,  and  on 
June  22d  he  took  the  field  in  person  at  the  head  of 
one  company  of  the  Fourth  Artillery,  Captain  Marcus 
P.  Miller  (now  Brigadier-General  M.  P.  Miller,  retired), 
armed  and  operating  as  infantry  five  companies  of  the 
Twenty-first  Infantry  and  two  troops  of  cavalry,  the 
whole  force  aggregating  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
men  for  duty.  On  the  26th  he  reached  White  Bird 


346  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Canon  and  buried  Captain  Perry's  dead  of  the  action 
on  June  17th.  On  the  28th  he  moved  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Salmon  River,  where  he  was  joined  by  four  com 
panies  of  the  Fourth  Artillery,  acting  as  infantry,  and 
Captain  Burton's  company  of  the  Twenty-first  Infan 
try,  giving  him  an  effective  force  of  four  hundred  men. 
Department  commander  though  he  was,  and  lacking 
an  arm  that  he  left  on  one  of  the  battlefields  of  our 
civil  war,  General  Howard  now  took  up  in  person  the 
pursuit  of  Chief  Joseph,  who  was  to  show  himself  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  astute  Indian  warriors  of  this 
century  and  to  exhibit  a  military  intuition  as  to  evading 
his  pursuers,  taking  up  almost  unassailable  positions 
when  attacked,  always  fighting  his  forces  with  sound 
judgment  and  keeping  up  his  flight  with  a  tenacity  of 
purpose  that  was  little  short  of  marvellous  in  an  un 
trained  savage. 

In  this  sketch  of  Chief  Joseph's  fighting  and  pro 
tracted  flight  I  can  only  give  the  bare  outline  of 
the  campaign  for  want  of  space,  and  I  shall  therefore 
quote  from  time  to  time  only  the  condensed  official 
report.  On  July  3d,  while  near  Cottonwood,  Cap 
tain  Whipple,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  sent  forward  Lieu 
tenant  Rains,  a  most  capable  officer,  with  ten  men  to 
ascertain  the  strength  of  the  Indians,  who  were  said 
to  be  advancing  in  his  direction,  and  to  aid  a  citizen 
scout  named  Blewett,  whom  it  was  reported  was  last 
seen  with  the  Indians  in  full  pursuit  of  him.  Lieuten 
ant  Rains  and  his  men  were  ambuscaded  and  all  killed. 
Chief  Joseph  and  his  following  at  this  time  numbered 
about  three  hundred  warriors  and  probably  two  hun 
dred  or  more  women  and  children,  with  a  herd  of  not 
less  than  fifteen  hundred  ponies  and  horses,  which  the 


THE  NEZ  PERCES'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      347 

squaws  drove  ahead  of  the  command,  took  care  of,  and 
kept  in  good  condition  for  constant  remounts  for  the 
warriors.  In  fact,  the  squaws  were  as  good  as  another 
hundred  men,  as  they  did  all  the  camp  work,  cooked 
the  food,  and  set  up  the  tepees  at  night,  thereby  en 
abling  Joseph  to  use  all  his  men  on  the  fighting  line. 
As  Joseph  swept  across  the  country  he  harried  the 
ranches  for  new  remounts,  carrying  with  him  all  the 
fresh  horses  and  leaving  the  troops,  who  wrere  following 
him,  only  his  own  worn-out  animals  as  remounts  when 
their  own  horses  gave  out.  For  ten  or  twelve  days  Jo 
seph  doubled  constantly  on  the  troops  in  pursuit  of  him, 
and  the  country  was  mountainous  and  extremely  diffi 
cult  to  operate  in.  General  Howard  says: 

"  The  2d  of  July  we  ascended  the  mountain  after 
forming  junction  with  Captain  Trimble's  command, 
now  consisting  of  his  own  company  and  McConville's 
twenty  volunteers.  Another  small  company  of  mounted 
volunteers,  under  Captain  Hunter,  had  joined  me  from 
the  vicinity  of  Dayton,  Wyoming  Territory.  The  ascent 
was  by  a  blind  trail,  exceedingly  steep  and  difficult,  and 
rendering  a  march  of  not  more  than  ten  miles  equiva 
lent  to  three  times  as  much  on  an  ordinary  road. 

"  A  heavy  rain  followed  by  thick  clouds  so  impeded 
the  command  that  several  pack  mules  were  killed  by 
rolling  down  the  mountain,  and  the  greater  part  of  two 
days  spent  in  completing  the  ascent.  Several  caches  of 
Indian  supplies  were  found  about  halfway  up  and  de 
stroyed.  Abundant  Indian  trails  showed  which  way 
the  enemy  had  gone — viz.,  toward  our  right." 

On  July  llth,  after  following  Joseph  over  and 
through  the  forests  and  hills,  and  hunting  for  him  in 
all  directions,  he  and  his  command  were  discovered  in 


348  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  deep  ravine  near  the  mouth  of  Cottonwood  Creek. 
General  Howard  says: 

"  My  guide,  Mr.  Chapman,  assures  me  that  they 
can  escape  only  by  a  canon  on  my  left,  which  makes 
a  small  angle  with  the  river  and  leads  toward  my 
rear. 

"  The  next  bluff  in  that  direction  was  beyond  a 
deep  and  rocky  transverse  ravine  perpendicular  to  this 
canon.  I  instantly  order  my  howitzer  battery  and  Gat- 
ling  guns,  supported  by  Winters' s  cavalry,  to  go  thither 
with  all  speed. 

"Around  the  head  of  the  ravine  our  distance  was 
over  a  mile,  the  enemy  having  less  than  a  third  to  go, 
so  we  found  him  dismounted  and  in  position  already 
on  our  approach,  beyond  the  second  bluff,  while  some 
thirty  or  forty  mounted  Indians  galloped  just  beyond 
range  to  compass  my  left.  For  a  few  minutes  I  feared 
the  result  of  this  attempt,  when  just  in  time  Major 
Mason,  Twenty-first  Infantry,  department  inspector 
general,  appeared  close  by  with  Burton's  company  of 
infantry,  having  anticipated  my  order  (at  every  junc 
ture  Major  Mason  thus  has  supplemented  my  efforts). 
This  company  deploying  to  the  right  enabled  Winters 
to  take  care  of  his  left.  Firing  now  became  very  brisk. 
My  line  was  extended  to  the  left  by  the  cavalry  and  to 
the  right  by  the  infantry  and  artillery  battalions, 
gradually  refusing  my  flanks  until  the  whole  was  en 
veloped.  Four  hundred  men  held  a  line  of  two  miles 
and  a  half  in  extent.  My  main  pack  train  had  passed 
by  this  position.  A  small  train  with  a  few  supplies  was 
on  the  road  nearer  us. 

"  The  Indian  flankers  by  their  rapid  movement 
struck  the  rear  of  the  small  train,  killed  two  of  the 
packers,  and  disabled  a  couple  of  mules  loaded  with 
howitzer  ammunition.  The  prompt  fire  from  Perry's 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     349 

and  Whipple's  cavalry  saved  the  ammunition  from 
capture. 

"  The  enemy  manifests  extraordinary  boldness, 
planting  sharpshooters  at  available  points,  making 
charges  on  foot  and  on  horseback  with  all  manner  of 
savage  demonstrations.  These  attempts  are  success 
fully  resisted  at  every  part  of  the  line.  At  3.30  p.  M. 
a  spirited  counter-charge  is  made  on  the  right,  down 
into  a  ravine,  by  Companies  H  (Haughey's),  D  (Pol 
lock's),  E  (Miles's),  and  B  (Jocelyn's),  Twenty-first  In 
fantry,  A  and  part  of  E,  Fourth  Artillery,  participating. 
Captain  Miles,  commanding  the  infantry  battalion,  sup 
ported  by  Captain  Miller's  artillery  battalion,  led  in 
this  charge.  Captain  Bancroft,  Fourth  Artillery,  and 
Lieutenant  Williams,  Twenty-first  Infantry,  were 
wounded  about  this  time.  A  number  of  Indians  were 
killed  and  several  wounded  in  this  charge,  and  the 
ravine  cleared. 

"  Captain  Miller  a  little  later  led  a  second  charge 
near  the  centre,  Burton,  Haughey,  Eltonhead,  and 
Winters  with  their  companies  participating.  Lieuten 
ant  Wilkinson,  aide-de-camp,  by  my  direction,  mean 
while,  led  a  demonstration  on  the  right,  using  artillery 
and  infantry  and  every  available  man  from  the  cavalry, 
horse  holders,  orderlies,  extra-duty  men,  and  train. 
Lieutenant  Fletcher,  acting  aide-de-camp,  also  using  a 
howitzer  at  this  and  at  several  other  times  during  the 
battle,  did  effective  service  by  lodging  shells  within  the 
enemy's  barricade. 

"  Miller's  charge  gained  the  ridge  in  front  and  se 
cured  the  disputed  ravine  near  Winters's  left.  Further 
spasmodic  charges  on  the  left  by  the  enemy  were  re 
pelled  by  Perry's  and  Whipple's  cavalry,  dismounted, 
and  Morris's  artillery,  Company  G.  Yet  a  few  Indian 
sharpshooters  managed  to  so  annoy  every  man  who  ap 
proached  the  spring,  our  water  supply,  that  in  spite  of 


350  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

our  successful  charges  matters  were  not  very  bright  at 
dark.  During  the  night  stone  barricades  and  rifle  pits 
were  constructed  by  ourselves  and  the  enemy.  At  day 
light  the  12th  every  available  man  was  on  the  line. 
I  directed  that  food  should  be  cooked  and  coffee  made 
at  the  centre  and  carried  to  the  front,  but  we  had  first 
to  get  complete  possession  of  our  spring,  as  sufficient 
water  was  not  secured  in  the  night.  This  was  executed 
by  Captains  Miller  and  Perry,  using  Lieutenant  Otis's 
battery,  supported  by  Rodney's  company.  The  sharp 
shooters  were  driven  from  their  hiding  places  and  the 
spring  secured  against  recapture.  As  soon  as  every 
man  had  been  provided  with  food,  I  directed  that  the 
artillery  battalion  be  withdrawn  entirely  from  the 
lines,  thin  though  they  were  already,  and  that  the  lines 
be  held  by  the  infantry  and  cavalry  battalions.  It  may 
be  remembered  that  the  number  of  the  Indian  warriors 
and  the  number  of  men  that  I  could  put  on  the  line 
were  about  equal,  owing  to  the  fact  that  with  us  a 
large  number  are  necessarily  absorbed  in  holding  the 
horses  and  in  performing  extra  duty. 

"  Captain  Miller  withdrew  his  battalion  at  about  2.30 
P.  M.  (the  time  I  had  selected),  and  was  preparing  to 
execute  this  movement — viz.,  to  push  out  by  the  left 
flank,  piercing  the  enemy's  line  just  left  of  the  centre, 
cross  his  barricaded  ravine,  then  face  suddenly  to  the 
right  and  charge,  striking  the  Indian  position  in  re 
verse,  assisting  himself  by  a  howitzer. 

"  As  he  was  about  to  move,  a  dust  appeared  in  the 
distance  beyond  the  Indians'  position.  Our  glasses  re 
vealed  it  as  an  expected  supply  train,  escorted  by  Cap 
tain  Jackson's  company,  B,  of  the  First  Cavalry.  Im 
mediately  the  artillery  battalion  is  sent  to  meet  the 
newcomers.  With  a  little  skirmishing  and  delay  of  an 
hour,  the  train  was  brought  in  in  safety. 

"  Then  at  once  Captain  Miller,  instead  of  returning 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDEBFUL  FLIGHT.      351 

to  our  position  with  the  train,  is  marching  slowly  in 
column  by  the  right  flank  toward  us;  when  just  at  the 
right  point  he  faces  quickly  to  the  left,  moves  steadily 
for  nearly  a  mile  across  our  front,  and  charges  the 
enemy's  position.  The  usual  attempt  to  double  his  left 
is  made  by  the  Indians,  when  a  reserved  company  (Rod 
ney's)  in  Miller's  rear  deploys  and  flanks  the  flankers. 
For  a  few  minutes  there  is  stubborn  resistance  at  the 
enemy's  barricades.  Then  the  whole  line  gives  way. 
Immediately  the  pursuit  is  taken  up  by  the  infantry 
and  artillery  and  Winters's  cavalry  company,  dis 
mounted,  and  the  remaining  cavalry  as  soon  as  they  can 
saddle  and  mount.  Captain  Jackson's  company,  just 
arrived,  followed  the  Gatling  gun  in  support  at  a  trot 
as  far  as  the  bluff  overlooking  the  river.  The  howitzers 
are  brought  to  the  same  point  with  Trimble's  company, 
and  shot  and  shell  poured  into  the  retreating  masses  of 
Indians  and  ponies. 

"  They  are  closely  pursued  through  the  ravines  into 
the  deep  canon,  thence  to  the  river,  over  rocks,  down 
precipices,  and  along  trails  almost  too  steep  and  craggy 
to  traverse.  The  footmen  pursued  them  to  the  river 
opposite  the  Indian  camp. 

"  The  cavalry  worked  its  way  as  rapidly  as  it  could 
from  its  position  on  the  left  down  the  rugged  mountain 
steeps  to  the  deep  ford,  and  crossed  slowly  into  the 
Indian  camp,  and  was  strongly  posted  beyond  it,  while 
the  Gatling  guns  and  the  howitzers,  near  which  I  was 
observing,  were  doing  their  best  to  reach  the  Indians, 
who  were  fleeing  in  every  direction  up  the  heights  to 
the  left  of  Cottonwood  Creek  and  beyond  the  Clear- 
water. 

"  The  Indian  camp,  abandoned  in  haste,  had  their 
lodges  still  standing  filled  with  their  effects,  buffalo 
robes,  cooking  utensils,  food  cooking  on  the  fire,  flour, 
jerked  beef,  and  plunder  of  all  description." 


352  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

The  Indians  lost  twenty-three  warriors  killed  be 
sides  their  wounded,  the  troops  captured  twenty-three 
warriors  and  seventeen  women  and  children.  Our  loss 
was  thirteen  enlisted  men  killed  and  two  officers  and 
twenty-two  enlisted  men  wounded. 

Chief  Joseph  and  his  band,  however,  mounted  upon 
fleet  and  fresh  ponies,  were  already  away  over  the  hills 
and  heading  boldly  for  the  old  Lo  Lo  Trail.  Joseph, 
still  followed  by  General  Howard  and  his  troops,  was 
on  August  9th  at  Little  Big  Hole  Valley,  Montana. 
Word  had  been  sent  forward  to  Brigadier-General  John 
Gibbon,  the  commander  of  the  District  of  Montana,  and 
he  in  person  had  instantly  taken  up  the  pursuit.  The 
force  at  his  command  was  very  small,  but  without 
the  slightest  hesitation  he  took  the  trail  with  all  the 
officers  and  men  he  could  collect,  and  I  append  here 
with  an  account  of  the  battle  of  the  Big  Hole  as  given 
in  his  official  report.  Can  anything  more  thoroughly 
show  the  spirit  that  animates  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  army  than  this  official  report,  which  exhibits 
the  commanding  general  of  the  district  (a  division 
commander,  too,  ten  years  previously  in  our  civil  war), 
owing  to  the  paucity  of  his  force,  himself  in  line  of 
battle  supplying  the  place  of  a  needed  private,  as,  rifle 
in  hand,  he  leads  the  attack  of  the  savages,  with  the 
result  that  he  is  one  of  the  wounded  in  the  desperate 
action  that  follows? 

"  It  was  nearly  sunset  before  we  reached  Lieuten 
ant  Bradley's  position,  and  the  Indian  camp  was  still 
four  or  five  miles  distant.  The  train  was  now  brought 
up,  closely  parked  amid  the  brush  of  the  little  valley 
down  which  we  were  travelling,  and  the  animals  turned 
out  to  rest  and  feed.  No  fires  were  built,  and  after 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     353 

posting  pickets,  all  laid  down  to  rest  until  eleven  o'clock. 
At  that  hour  the  command,  now  consisting  of  seven 
teen  officers,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men,  and 
thirty-four  citizens,  started  down  the  trail  on  foot,  each 
man  being  provided  with  ninety  rounds  of  ammuni 
tion.  The  howitzer  could  not  accompany  the  column 
in  consequence  of  the  quantity  of  fallen  timber  ob 
structing  the  trail  and  the  noise  which  would  have  to 
be  made  in  removing  it.  Orders  were  therefore  given 
that  at  early  daylight  it  should  start  after  us  with  a 
pack  mule,  loaded  with  two  thousand  rounds  of  extra 
ammunition.  The  thirty-four  citizens  who  volunteered 
to  accompany  us  being  joined  to  Lieutenant  Bradley's 
command,  the  advance  was  given  to  him,  and  the  col 
umn  moved  in  silence  down  the  trail,  the  night  being 
clear  and  starlight.  After  proceeding  about  three  miles 
the  country  opened  out  into  the  Big  Hole  Basin,  and 
still  following  the  trail,  guided  by  one  of  the  citizens 
who  knew  the  locality,  we  turned  to  the  left,  and  fol 
lowing  along  the  low  foothills,  soon  came  in  sight  of 
fires.  After  proceeding  about  a  mile  from  where  we 
emerged  from  the  mountains  we  passed  through  a  point 
of  timber  projecting  into  the  valley,  and  just  beyond 
encountered  a  large  herd  of  ponies  grazing  upon  the 
hillside.  As  we  silently  advanced  they  commenced 
neighing,  but  fortunately  did  not  become  alarmed,  and 
by  the  time  we  had  passed  through  the  herd  the  outline 
of  the  tepees  could  be  made  out  in  the  bottom  below. 
The  command  was  now  halted  and  all  laid  down  to  wait 
for  daylight.  Here  we  waited  for  two  hours  in  plain 
hearing  of  the  barking  dogs,  crying  of  babies,  and  other 
noises  of  the  camp.  Just  before  daylight  Sanno's  com 
pany  and  then  Comba's  were  sent  down  into  the  valley 
and  deployed  as  skirmishers.  As  day  began  to  break 
and  enable  me  to  make  out  the  ground  beneath  us,  I 
found  that  the  tepees,  in  the  form  of  an  open  V,  with 


354  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  apex  toward  us,  extended  along  the  opposite  side  of 
a  large  creek  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  us. 
"  The  intervening  space  between  the  camp  and  the 
foot  of  the  slope  upon  which  we  stood  was  almost  en 
tirely  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  willow  brush  in 
the  grassy  spaces  between  which  herds  of  ponies  were 
grazing.  A  deep  slough,  with  water  in  places  waist 
deep,  wound  through  this  bottom  from  right  to  left, 
and  had  to  be  crossed  before  the  stream  itself  could 
be  reached.  As  the  light  increased  Comba  and  Sanno 
were  ordered  to  move  forward,  then  Bradley  and  his 
citizens  on  the  left,  with  Rawn  and  Williams  in  sup 
port.  All  pushed  in  perfect  silence,  while  now  scarcely 
a  sound  issued  from  the  camp.  Suddenly  a  single  shot 
in  the  extreme  left  rang  out  on  the  clear  morning  air, 
followed  quickly  by  several  others,  and  the  whole  line 
pushed  rapidly  forward  through  the  brush.  Logan's 
company  being  sent  in  on  the  run  on  the  extreme  right, 
a  heavy  fire  was  at  once  opened  along  the  whole  line 
of  the  tepees,  the  startled  Indians  rushing  from  them 
in  every  direction,  and  for  a  few  moments  no  shots  were 
returned.  Comba  and  Sanno  first  struck  the  camp  at 
the  apex  of  the  V,  crossed  them  in  a  stream,  and  de 
livered  their  fire  at  close  range  into  the  tepees  and 
the  Indians  as  they  passed  from  them.  Many  of  the 
Indians  broke  at  once  for  the  brush,  and,  sheltering 
themselves  behind  the  creek  bank,  opened  fire  on  the 
troops  as  they  came  into  the  open  ground.  This  was 
especially  the  case  on  the  right  or  upper  end  of  the 
camp  where  the  creek  made  a  bend  toward  our  line. 
As  Logan  and  the  right  of  the  line  swept  forward  our 
men  found  themselves  directly  at  the  backs  of  these  In 
dians,  and  here  the  greatest  slaughter  took  place.  In 
less  than  twenty  minutes  we  had  complete  possession  of 
the  whole  camp,  and  orders  were  given  to  commence  de 
stroying  it.  But  the  Indians  had  not  given  up  the 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      355 

fight,  and  while  a  portion  of  the  command  was  engaged 
in  setting  fire  to  the  tepees,  other  portions  were  occu 
pied  in  replying  to  the  rifle  shots  which  now  came  upon 
us  from  every  direction — the  brush,  the  creek'  bank,  the 
open  prairie,  and  the  distant  bills.  The  fire  from  these 
latter  positions,  although  at  long  range,  was  by  far  the 
most  deadly,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the 
enemy's  sharpshooters,  hidden  behind  trees,  rocks,  etc., 
possessed  an  immense  advantage  over  us,  in  so  much 
that  we  could  not  compete  with  them.  At  almost  every 
crack  of  a  rifle  from  the  distant  hills  some  member  of 
the  command  was  sure  to  fall.  My  acting  adjutant, 
Lieutenant  C.  A.  Woodruff,  and  myself,  with  our 
horses,  were  wounded  at  this  time.  Under  these  circum 
stances  the  only  remedy  was  to  take  up  some  position 
where  we  would  be  more  on  an  equality  with  the  enemy. 
Orders  were  therefore  reluctantly  given  to  withdraw 
through  the  brush  to  a  position  under  the  hill  from 
which  we  had  first  started,  and  then  push  for  the  timber 
through  which  we  had  passed  in  the  night.  This  move 
ment  was  successfully  accomplished,  such  of  our 
wounded  as  we  could  find  being  carried  with  us,  and  the 
few  Indians  who  occupied  the  timber  being  driven  out. 
Here  we  took  up  our  position,  and,  sheltering  ourselves 
behind  the  trees,  fallen  logs,  etc.,  replied  to  the  fire  of 
the  sharpshooters,  who  soon  gathered  around  us,  oc 
cupying  the  brush  below  and  the  timber  above.  For 
a  time  their  fire  was  very  close  and  deadly,  and  here 
Lieutenant  English  received  a  mortal  wound,  Captain 
Williams  was  struck  a  second  time,  and  a  large  number 
of  men  killed  and  wounded.  The  Indians  crawled  up 
as  closely  as  they  dared  to  come,  and  with  yells  of  en 
couragement  urged  each  other  on;  but  our  men  met 
them  with  a  bold  front,  and  our  fire,  as  we  afterward 
learned  by  the  blood  and  dead  Indians  found,  punished 
them  severely. 


356  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  Just  as  we  took  up  our  position  in  the  timber  two 
shots  from  our  howitzer  on  the  trail  above  us  were 
heard,  and  we  afterward  learned  that  the  gun  and  pack 
mule  with  ammunition  were  on  the  road  to  us  inter 
cepted  by  the  Indians. 

"  The  noncommissioned  officers  in  charge,  Sergeants 
Daly  and  Frederics  and  Corporal  Sales,  made  the  best 
resistance  they  could,  while  the  two  privates  cowardly 
fled  at  the  first  appearance  of  danger,  and  never  stopped 
until  they  had  put  a  hundred  miles  between  themselves 
and  the  battlefield,  spreading,  of  course,  as  such  cow 
ards  always  do,  when  they  reached  the  settlements, 
the  most  exaggerated  reports  of  the  dire  calamity  which 
had  overtaken  the  entire  command.  The  piece  was 
fired  twice,  and  as  the  Indians  closed  around  the  men 
used  their  rifles.  Corporal  Sales  was  killed,  the  two 
sergeants  wounded,  the  animals  shot  down,  and  private 
John  0.  Bennett,  the  driver,  entangled  in  their  fall. 
Cutting  himself  loose,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
brush  and  escaped  to  the  train,  which  the  two  sergeants, 
Blodgett,  the  guide,  and  William,  a  coloured  servant  of 
Lieutenant  Jacobs,  also  reached.  In  the  meantime 
our  fight  in  the  timber  continued,  with  more  or  less 
activity,  all  day.  But  every  hour  was  increasing  the 
strength  of  our  position,  when  a  new  danger  threatened 
us.  A  strong  wind  was  blowing  from  the  west,  and, 
taking  advantage  of  this,  the  Indians  set  fire  to  the 
grass,  intending,  doubtless,  to  follow  up  the  fire  and 
make  a  dash  upon  us  while  we  were  blinded  by  the 
dense  smoke.  But,  fortunately,  the  grass  was  too  green 
to  burn  rapidly,  and  before  the  fire  reached  any  of  the 
dead  timber  lying  about  us  it  went  out.  The  Indians 
remained  around  us,  firing  occasionally  nearly  all  night. 
They  had,  however,  broken  camp  immediately  after  we 
abandoned  it,  and  sent  off  their  women,  children,  and 
herds  in  a  southernly  direction.  During  the  night  I 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      357 

sent  a  runner  to  the  train,  and  two  others  to  Deer 
Lodge,  via  French's  Gulch,  for  medical  assistance  and 
supplies,  fearing  our  train  had  been  captured.  This 
fear  was  increased  early  the  next  morning,  on  the  ar 
rival  of  a  courier  from  General  Howard,  who  said  he 
had  seen  nothing  of  it.  He  had  passed  it  in  the  dark 
ness  of  the  night  without  seeing  it.  Later  in  the  day 
we  communicated  with  the  train;  but  the  Indians,  in 
small  parties,  still  appearing  in  the  interval  which  sepa 
rated  us  from  it,  I  sent  Captain  Browning,  with  twenty- 
five  men,  to  bring  it  in,  and  it  reached  us  just  before 
sundown,  bringing  us  our  much-needed  blankets  and 
provisions,  not,  however,  until  we  had  partially  con 
sumed  the  flesh  of  Lieutenant  Woodruff's  horse, 
brought  wounded  to  our  position  and  conveniently 
killed  by  the  Indians  inside  our  lines.  The  Indians 
gave  us  a  parting  shower  of  bullets  about  eleven  o'clock 
that  night,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them  afterward. 

"  In  closing  this  report,  I  desire  to  speak  in  the 
most  commendatory  terms  of  the  conduct  of  both  offi 
cers  and  men  (with  the  exception  of  the  two  cowards 
who  deserted  the  howitzer).  With  the  exception  of  Cap 
tain  Logan  and  Lieutenant  Bradley,  both  of  whom  were 
killed  very  early  in  the  action,  every  officer  came  under 
my  personal  observation  at  some  time  or  other  during 
the  fight,  and  where  all  were  so  active,  zealous,  and 
courageous,  not  only  in  themselves  fighting  and  in 
cheering  on  the  men,  but  in  prompt  obedience  to  every 
order,  I  find  it  out  of  the  question  to  make  any  attempt 
at  discrimination,  and  will  simply  mention  the  names 
of  those  who  were  present  in  the  battle.  They  were: 

"  Captains  C.  C.  Rawn,  Richard  Comba,  George  L. 
Browning,  J.  M.  J.  Sanno,  Constant  Williams  (wounded 
twice),  and  William  Logan  (killed);  First-Lieutenants 
C.  A.  Coolidge  (wounded  three  times),  James  H.  Brad 
ley  (killed),  J.  W.  Jacobs,  regimental  quartermaster, 
24 


358  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER, 

Allan  II.  Jackson,  George  II.  Wright,  and  William  L. 
English,  (mortally  wounded,  and  since  dead);  and  Sec 
ond-Lieutenants  C.  A.  Woodruff,  acting  adjutant 
(wounded  three  times),  J.  T.  Van  Orsdale,  E.  E.  Har- 
din,  and  Francis  Woodbridge. 

"  A  complete  list  of  casualties  is  appended  to  this 
report,  showing  a  loss  of  the  aggregate  engaged  (one 
hundred  and  ninety-one),  including  the  howitzer  party, 
of  twenty-nine  killed  and  forty  wounded.  Captain 
Comba,  who  had  charge  of  our  burial  party,  reports 
eighty-three  dead  Indians  found  on  the  field,  and  six 
more  dead  warriors  were  found  in  a  ravine  some  dis 
tance  from  the  battlefield  after  the  command  left 
there." 

Despite  the  rough  handling  General  Gibbon's  force 
had  given  him,  Chief  Joseph  and  the  remnant  of  his 
band  once  more  got  away  from  his  pursuers,  and,  after 
leaving  the  Big  Hole  battlefield,  proceeded  south  past 
the  town  of  Bannock,  murdering  settlers  and  stealing 
stock  as  they  went,  crossed  the  main  divide  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains  east  of  Fort  Lambie,  then  moved 
across  the  divide  again  at  Henry's  Lake,  down  to  the 
Madison  Eiver,  up  that  stream  to  the  Geyser  Basin, 
through  that  to  the  Yellowstone  Eiver.  This  stream 
they  crossed  below  Yellowstone  Lake,  and  moved  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream  to  the  East  Fork;  then, 
after  some  delay,  up  that  to  the  head  of  Clark's  Fork 
and  down  that  to  the  Yellowstone.  After  crossing  the 
Yellowstone  Biver  they  came  down  the  right  bank  as 
far  as  Baronette's  bridge,  which  they  burned,  and  then 
moved  slowly  up  the  East  Fork.  Striking  the  head  of 
Clark's  Fork  on  the  4th,  General  Howard  repaired  the 
bridge  and  crossed  it  on  the  5th,  continuing  the  pursuit. 

Pushing  steadily  and  determinedly  forward  on  Jo- 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     359 

seph's  trail,  General  Howard  kept  sending  word  of  his 
whereabouts  to  the  various  department  and  district 
commanders  on  our  northern  frontier  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  which  direction,  plundering  as  he  went, 
Chief  Joseph  was  tending,  probably  with  the  hope  of 
eventually  reaching  the  British  possessions  and  joining 
Sitting  Bull  and  his  hostiles  on  the  other  side  of  the 
line. 

The  following  extract  from  a  field  despatch  of  Gen 
eral  Miles  (then  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Infantry)  shows 
with  both  brevity  and  accuracy  the  close  of  this  won 
derful  retreat  of  the  Nez  Perces  for  one  hundred  and 
ten  days,  and  at  the  end  of  a  pursuit  of  more  than  four 
teen  hundred  miles  from  its  starting  point,  over  and 
across  three  mountain  ranges,  with  a  record  of  eleven 
engagements  between  the  Indians  and  the  troops: 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DISTRICT  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE, 
"!N  THE  FIELD,  CAMP  NEAR  NORTH  END  OF 

"BEAR  PAW  MOUNTAINS,  MONTANA,  October  6,  1877. 

"  SIR:  I  have  the  honour  to  report  having  received 
on  the  evening  of  the  17th  ultimo  a  communication 
dated  the  12th,  from  General  Howard,  then  on  Clark's 
Fork,  stating  that  the  ISTez  Perces  had  evaded  the  com 
mands  to  the  north  of  them  and  were  pushing  north 
ward.  I  at  once  organized  all  the  available  force  of 
my  command  for  a  movement  to  intercept  or  pursue 
them.  The  command  left  the  cantonment  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th;  the  different  orders  regarding 
escort  for  the  commission  had  already  put  en  route 
the  battalion  Second  Cavalry  and  one  company  (Hale's) 
Seventh  Cavalry;  these  were  taken  up  on  the  march. 

"  The  command  reached  the  Missouri  at  the  mouth 
of  Musselshell  on  the  23d  day  of  September,  but  learn 
ing  on  the  25th  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  crossed  at  Cow 


360  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Island  on  the  23d,  destroying  the  depot  there,  and 
moved  northward,  I  immediately  crossed  the  Missouri. 
The  command  moved  on  the  26th  northward  from 
mouth  of  Mussclshcll,  and  on  the  27th,  leaving  my 
train  to  follow,  pushed  on  rapidly  by  the  northern  side 
of  the  Little  Rockies;  thence  across  to  the  northern  end 
of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  which  point  I  reached  on 
the  evening  of  the  29th.  On  the  same  evening  the  trail 
was  discovered  by  my  scouts,  entering  the  range  to 
my  left. 

"  Starting  at  four  o'clock  on  the  30th,  and  moving 
around  the  northern  end  of  the  mountains,  the  trail 
was  struck  at  6  A.  M.,  near  the  head  of  Snake  Eiver; 
the  village  shortly  afterward  was  discovered  on  Eagle 
Creek,  and  immediately  charged,  the  battalion  Seventh 
Cavalry  (Captain  Hale)  and  Fifth  Infantry  (Captain 
Snyder)  attacking  in  front,  the  battalion  Second  Cav 
alry  (Captain  Tyler)  by  circuit  attacked  in  rear,  and  se 
cured  the  stock  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  horses, 
mules,  and  ponies.  The  fighting  was  very  severe  and  at 
close  quarters.  The  Indians  took  refuge  in  some  deep 
ravines,  and  their  firing  was  accurate  and  well  kept  up. 
Having  at  the  first  onset  surprised  and  shut  up  the 
greater  part  of  the  Indians  in  the  village  and  cut  off 
and  secured  the  greater  part  of  their  stock,  and  per 
ceiving  that  the  position  could  be  carried  by  storm  only 
with  very  great  loss,  I  determined  to  maintain  my  lines 
about  them,  keep  them  under  fire,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  surrender  if  they  desired. 

**  The  positions  taken  up  on  the  30th  were,  with 
slight  modifications,  maintained  during  the  four  suc 
ceeding  days  and  nights.  Meantime  a  few  shells  from  a 
12-pounder  Napoleon  were  thrown  in  from  time  to 
time,  and  a  sharpshooting  fire  kept  up  whenever  it 
could  be  effective.  The  Indians  had  from  time  to  time 
displayed  a  white  flag,  but  when  communicated  with 


THE  NBZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  PLIGHT.      361 

had  refused  to  surrender  their  arms;  but  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  5th  they  surrendered — Chief  Joseph  leading, 
surrendering  his  arms  and  ammunition,  followed  by  his 
band — and  their  village  is  now  in  our  possession. 

"  The  fighting,  as  reported,  was  sharp,  and  the 
losses  on  both  sides  considerable.  Inclosed  is  a  list  of 
casualties  on  the  part  of  the  troops.  The  Indians  ad 
mit  a  loss  of  Chief  Looking-Glass,  Too-hul-hul-Sote, 
Ollicut,  a  brother  of  Joseph,  and  two  others  of  their 
principal  men,  and  twenty-five  killed  and  forty-six 
wounded. 

"  The  endurance  and  courage  of  the  command,  as 
tested  by  the  forced  marches  and  hardly  contested 
fight  at  short  range,  are  worthy  of  highest  commenda 
tion.  A  severe  storm  of  snow  and  wind,  which  set  in 
on  the  1st  instant,  added  greatly  to  their  hardships, 
which  have  been  borne  without  murmuring.  The  op 
portune  arrival  of  the  train,  under  escort  commanded 
by  Captain  Brotherton,  enabled  me  to  protect  the 
wounded  from  the  worst  effects  of  the  storm. 

"  I  propose,  to-morrow,  to  march  hence  toward  the 
Missouri.  The  force  of  General  Howard  (including  the 
command  of  General  Sturgis),  following  the  trail  of 
the  Nez  Perces,  is  approaching  from  the  Missouri.  The 
general  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  4th,  having  come 
forward  in  advance  with  a  small  escort. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  NELSON  A.  MILES, 

"  Colonel  Fifth  Infantry,  Brevet  Major  General 
"  United  States  Army,  Commanding. 

"ASSISTANT  ADJUTANT  GENERAL, 

" Department  of  Dakota,  St.  Paul,  Minn" 

Our  losses  in  this  action  were  two  officers  and  twen 
ty-three  enlisted  men  killed  and  four  officers  and  thirty- 
eight  men  wounded. 


362  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

General  Howard,  who  had  arrived  at  General  Miles's 
field  headquarters  on  the  4th  instant,  stood  by  his  side 
when  Chief  Joseph  surrendered.  He  had  steadily 
fought  and  followed  the  wily  and  able  Indian  chief  for 
nearly  three  months,  hanging  to  his  trail  like  a  sleuth- 
hound,  and  had  traced  him  over  three  Territories,  across 
three  mountain  ranges,  through  valleys  and  rivers  and 
canons  and  mountain  streams  and  deep  forests,  and  as 
he  stood  by  the  side  of  the  younger  man,  grim  and 
worn  and  gray,  with  his  armless  sleeve  pinned  to  the 
breast  of  his  coat,  it  is  little  wonder  that  Chief  Joseph 
thought  him  his  Nemesis,  and  addressed  himself  to  him 
instead  of  his  captor,  General  Miles: 

"  Tell  General  Howard  I  know  his  heart.  What  he 
told  me  before  I  have  in  my  heart.  I  am  tired  of  fight 
ing.  Our  chiefs  are  killed.  Looking-Glass  is  dead. 
Too-hul-hul-Sote  is  dead.  The  old  men  are  all  dead. 
It  is  the  young  men  who  say  yes  or  no.  He  who  led 
on  the  young  men  is  dead.  It  is  cold  and  we  have  no 
blankets.  The  little  children  are  freezing  to  death. 
My  people,  some  of  them,  have  run  away  to  the  hills, 
and  have  no  blankets,  no  food;  no  one  knows  where 
they  are — perhaps  freezing  to  death.  I  want  to  have 
time  to  look  for  my  children  and  see  how  many  of  them 
I  can  find.  Maybe  I  shall  find  them  among  the  dead. 
Hear  me,  my  chiefs.  I  am  tired;  my  heart  is  sick  and 
sad.  From  where  the  sun  now  stands  I  will  fight  no 
more  forever." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    ARMY    OFFICER,    THE    PEOPLE,    AND    THE    SOLDIER. 

WHY  really  able  and  thoughtful  men  in  political 
life  will  continue  to  allude  to  the  regular  army  as 
inimical  to  the  best  interests  of,  and  dangerous  to,  the 
perpetuity  of  the  republic  is,  to  those  who  know  it 
best,  and  have  served  in  it,  simply  incomprehensible. 
Its  existence  depends  upon  the  life  of  the  nation,  and 
ceases  with  it.  It  was  created  for  its  defence  and  the 
enforcement  of  its  laws,  and  being  the  absolute  crea 
ture  of  law,  the  power  that  made  it  can  dissolve  and 
annihilate  it  at  will.  A  concurrent  resolution  of  Con 
gress  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  or  passed  by  a  bare 
majority  of  both  houses  and  approved  by  the  Presi 
dent,  would  legally  and  within  constitutional  limits  in 
stantly  effect  its  dissolution;  and  from  the  moment  of 
the  passage  and  approval  of  said  resolution  the  army 
would  cease  to  exist.  NOT  could  any  officer  or  enlisted 
man  establish  good  and  lawful  claim  against  the  General 
Government  for  his  services  beyond  the  time  that  he  re 
ceived  due  legal  notice  of  the  passage  of  such  a  resolu 
tion.  So  long,  then,  as  the  United  States  Congress 
correctly  represents  the  concentrated  expression  of  the 
will  of  the  people,  there  need  not  be  any  fear  of  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States.  But  outside  of  and 

363 


364  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

beyond  the  power  of  Congress  the  army  is  intensely 
loyal  and  absolutely  devoted  to  the  nation.  In  no  gen 
eral  sense  are  the  officers  or  men  politicians.  The  fact 
that  unless  they  are  at  their  homes  they  can  not  cast 
a  vote  takes  them  completely  out  of  political  affilia 
tions.  As  a  general  thing,  they  have  an  intelligent  idea 
of  the  drift  of  national  affairs,  and  have  their  personal 
preferences  for  one  of  the  two  prominent  political 
parties  of  the  day,  and  occasionally  will  discuss  certain 
political  movements;  but  the  discussion  is  rarely  acri 
monious,  for  the  disputants  can  usually  see  the  good 
points  of  both  parties,  and  are  willing  to  admit  them. 
Then,  again,  if  some  impetuous  youngster  in  his  early 
years  of  service  is  inclined  to  go  too  far  in  his  ex 
pressions  one  way  or  another  some  one  of  the  older 
officers,  after  the  hot  words  have  cooled,  will  good- 
humouredly  open  the  Army  Kegulations  at  the  Articles 
of  War,  and  with  a  smile  point  to 

"AKTICLE  XIX.  Any  officer  who  uses  contemptu 
ous  or  disrespectful  words  against  the  President,  the 
Vice-President,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  or 
the  Chief  Magistrate  or  Legislature  of  any  of  the 
United  States  in  which  he  may  be  quartered  shall  be 
dismissed  the  service  or  otherwise  punished  as  a  court- 
martial  may  direct.  Any  soldier  who  so  offends  shall 
be  punished  as  a  court-martial  may  direct," 

with  the  result  that  the  next  time  the  youthful 
politician  enters  into  a  political  discussion,  no  mat 
ter  how  strongly  or  earnestly  he  may  argue,  he  is 
safe  to  be  not  at  all  vituperative.  It  is  a  good  arti 
cle  of  war,  and  is  apt  to  make  one  thoughtful  and 
broaden  one's  ideas  somewhat  as  to  men  and  political 
parties. 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  365 

At  the  same  time  that  the  army  recognises  the  fact 
that  it  exists  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress,  it  also  knows 
that  Congress  has  no  authority  to  compel  it  to  do  an 
illegal  act.  The  first  paragraph  of  the  first  article  in 
Army  Eegulations  declares  that  "  all  persons  in  the 
military  service  are  required  to  obey  strictly  and  to 
execute  promptly  the  lawful  orders  of  their  superiors." 
Therefore/ beyond  a  lawful  order  the  army  can  not  be 
induced  to  go.* 

Up  to  this  time  I  have  not  said  anything  as  to  staff 
organization  and  the  administrative  bureaus  of  the 
War  Department  at  the  head  of  the  army,  from  the  fact 
that  they  scarcely  come  within  the  scope  of  this  book, 
but  I  think  it  best  to  touch  somewhat  upon  them  for 
the  information  of  my  civilian  readers.  Constitution 
ally,  as  all  know,  the  President  is  the  commander  in 
chief  of  the  army.  The  Secretary  of  War  has  control 
of  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress  for  the  pay  and 
support  of  the  army,  which  are  expended  by  the  vari 
ous  bureaus  of  the  War  Department  subject  to  his 
approval.  He  also  has  charge  of  its  recruitment,  and, 
as  directly  representing  the  President,  looks  after  and 
supervises  the  appointment  of  officers  of  the  army 
other  than  the  annual  class  of  graduates  of  the  Mili 
tary  Academy,  and  exercises  a  close  supervision  in  all 
that  pertains  to  estimates  for  its  expenses  and  its  gen- 

*  Beyond  briefly  chronicling  some  of  the  splendid  work  of 
the  artillery  acting  as  infantry  during  the  Modoc  war  on  the 
Pacific  slope  in  1873,  the  writer  has  not  alluded  to  that  branch  of 
the  service,  from  the  fact  that  until  recently,  from  1867  until 
1898,  nearly  all  its  duties  kept  it  within  the  seacoast  fortifications. 
No  military  man  of  his  acquaintance  has  a  higher  opinion  of,  or 
more  thorough  respect  for  the  corps,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  few, 
if  any  of  them,  know  less  about  it. 


366  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

eral  welfare  in  every  direction  outside  of  strictly  mili 
tary  matters. 

The  commanding  general  of  the  army  has  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  general.  Next  in  rank  come  two  major 
generals  and  six  brigadier  generals  of  the  line,  who 
are  the  officers  in  immediate  command  of  the  field 
forces  of  the  army.  The  departments  or  administrative 
bureaus  of  the  War  Department  are  ten  in  number. 
They  are: 

The  adjutant  general's  department,  which  issues 
all  orders  affecting  the  army  as  a  whole,  by  direction 
of  the  President  through  the  Secretary  of  War,  or 
by  the  commanding  general  of  the  army;  has  con 
trol  of  all  records,  the  recruitment  or  enlargement  of 
the  army  (through  the  Secretary  of  War);  issues  com 
missions  to  officers,  accepts  resignations,  grants  dis 
charges,  and  has  a  general  supervision  of  all  that  per 
tains  to  the  army,  the  administrative  bureaus  of  the 
War  Department,  and  the  State  National  Guard  or 
Militia. 

The  inspector  general's  department,  which  inspects 
the  army,  all  the  military  bureaus  of  the  War  Depart 
ment,  all  military  depots,  arsenals,  posts,  forts,  general 
hospitals,  army  transportation,  all  money  accounts,  and 
everything  pertaining  to  and  belonging  to  the  army. 

The  judge-advocate  general's  department,  which 
is  the  bureau  of  military  justice,  supervises  the  records 
and  findings  of  all  general  courts-martial,  has  charge  of 
all  court-martial  records,  and  control  of  all  papers  rela 
tive  to  land  titles  of  forts,  posts,  reservations,  etc,  held 
under  authority  of  the  War  Department. 

The  quartermaster's  department,  which  has  control 
of  all  transportation  by  land  or  sea  in  the  service  of 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  367 

the  army,  furnishes  its  clothing,  camp  and  garrison 
equipage,  builds  its  barracks,  quarters,  storehouses,  and 
other  buildings,  constructs  and  repairs  its  military 
roads,  docks,  and  wharves,  and  furnishes  all  public  ani 
mals  needed  by  the  army  and  all  forage  consumed  by 
them. 

The  subsistence  department,  which  has  charge  of 
all  purchases  for  the  subsistence  of  the  army  and  the 
proper  distribution  of  its  rations. 

The  pay  department,  which  has  charge  of  the  funds 
appropriated  for  the  pay  of  the  army  and  pays  the  offi 
cers  and  troops  of  the  army  and  the  civilian  employees 
of  the  War  Department. 

The  medical  department,  which  is  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  army,  has  control 
of  all  army  hospitals  and  medical  supplies  and  every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  troops 
and  the  health  of  the  army. 

The  corps  of  engineers,  which  has  charge  of  the  con 
struction  of  all  the  forts  and  military  defences  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  the  execution  of  all  river  and  harbour 
improvements  authorized  and  appropriated  for  by  law, 
together  with  the  construction  of  military  roads, 
bridges,  etc.,  and  also  makes  up  the  estimates  for  coast 
and  harbour  defences  and  for  the  improvements  of  all 
rivers  and  harbours  throughout  the  country. 

The  ordnance  department,  which  is  charged  with 
the  manufacture  or  purchase  of  small  arms,  light  ar 
tillery,  heavy  ordnance,  and  ammunition,  and  their  dis 
tribution  at  proper  points.  It  also  has  charge  of  all 
arsenals  and  depots  for  their  manufacture  and  safe 
keeping. 

The  signal  corps,  which  is  charged  with  instruction 


368  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  military  signalling,  and  is  in  control  of  all  field 
telegraphy,  military  telegraph  lines  and  cables,  field 
telephone  lines,  and  everything  pertaining  to  the  collec 
tion  and  dissemination  of  needed  information  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

These  ten  departments  constitute  what  is  known  as 
the  staff  corps  in  our  army.  The  officer  at  the  head  of 
the  adjutant  general's  department  has  the  rank  of 
major  general.  The  official  heads  of  the  other  nine 
departments  have  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  That 
our  staff  corps  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  organized  on 
the  basis  of  a  European  staff  corps  is  a  fact;  still,  it  is 
the  best  we  have,  and  very  much  better  than  that  of 
most  European  nations,  despite  the  flood  of  adverse 
criticism  that  poured  in  upon  it  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
recent  Spanish  war. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  was  said  against  it,  the 
War  Department  and  its  various  bureaus  rose  splendidly 
to  the  occasion,  and  now  that  the  nation  has  had  time 
to  take  a  sober  second  thought  and  realizes  what  a  tre 
mendous  task  it  had  to  accomplish  in  enrolling,  equip 
ping,  arming,  encamping,  and  feeding  a  volunteer  army 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  within  less  than 
ninety  days,  and  all  of  which  it  did  accomplish,  when 
its  magazine  of  supplies  contained  a  reserve  for  an  army 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men  only,  our  people  must  at 
least  be  just  enough  to  admit  it  was  a  colossal  work, 
well  and  quickly  done  in  spite  of  a  few  errors  and  draw 
backs,  arising  principally  from  the  ignorance  of  vol 
unteer  officers  and  the  cupidity  of  a  few  dishonest  Gov 
ernment  contractors.  As  for  the  officers  of  the  various 
departments,  from  the  adjutant  general  down  through 
all  the  various  bureaus,  including  also  every  clerk  of 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  369 

the  War  Department,  the  writer,  from  personal  obser 
vation,  can  bear  testimony  to  their  constant  and  in 
cessant  work  day  and  night  to  meet  the  crisis  that  sud 
denly  and  unexpectedly  confronted  them,  and  although 
he  believes  in  the  reorganization  of  our  staff  corps,  and 
can,  he  thinks,  see  where  improvements  can  be  intro 
duced,  nevertheless  there  is  much  that  is  good  in 
our  system,  and  certain  portions  of  it  are  much  more 
capable  of  quick  expansion  in  war  times  than  are  those 
of  some  European  nations  which  have  been  held  up 
and  referred  to  as  models  for  us  to  imitate.  A  serv 
ice  of  many  years  in  the  United  States  army,  and  an 
unusual  opportunity  to  compare  it  with  the  troops  of 
all  the  European  armies  twenty-five  years  ago,  and 
again  four  years  since,  has  convinced  the  writer  that 
in  all  the  essentials  of  a  fighting  force  it  has  not  its 
equal,  man  for  man,  in  any  army  in  the  world.  Of 
course,  he  can  not  say  as  to  the  discipline,  drill,  and  effi 
ciency  on  the  firing  line  of  our  regulars  of  to-day,  con 
sidering  the  immense  number  of  recruits  brought  in 
two  years  ago  by  the  new  three-battalion  formation  in 
the  infantry  and  the  expansion  of  each  cavalry  troop 
to  its  maximum,  and  he  recognises  how  impossible  it 
has  been  during  an  active  campaign  to  work  up  these 
new  men  to  the  old  standard;  but  the  material  is  all 
there,  and  able  and  capable  officers  to  develop  it,  and 
all  that  is  needed  is  time.  The  ten  regiments  of  cav 
alry  and  the  twenty-five  regiments  of  infantry  that 
represented  our  cavalry  and  infantry  prior  to  the  Span 
ish  war  were,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  unquestion 
ably  the  best  troops  in  the  world,  and  when  it  is  taken 
into  consideration  that  the  officers  were  West  Point 
men  and  brilliantly  educated  soldiers,  or  else  men  who 


370  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

had  made  distinguished  military  reputations,  first  in 
our  civil  war  and  afterward  on  the  great  plains  of  the 
West,  and  the  enlisted  men  had  been  carefully  selected 
for  their  intelligence  and  fine  physique,  and  all  or 
nearly  all  of  them  were  qualified  marksmen,  perfectly 
drilled,  and  in  a  fine  state  of  discipline,  while  many  of 
them  had  the  experience  that  years  of  frontier  cam 
paigning  against  the  wily  North  American  savage 
gives,  it  would  have  been  a  strange  thing  if  they  had 
not  developed  into  the  best  fighting  men  in  the 
world. 

As  far  as  the  personality  of  the  officers  and  en 
listed  men  is  concerned,  the  standard  is  unusually 
high.  From  the  moment  that  a  cadet  enters  the  Mili 
tary  Academy  or  an  enlisted  man  enters  his  regi 
ment  he  is  taught  two  things  by  both  precept  and 
example,  and  they  are  the  honour  of  the  service  and 
the  necessity  of  always  and  under  all  circumstances 
doing  his  duty.  Service  and  duty  in  time  become 
the  two  watchwords  of  the  soldier,  and  in  the  end 
build  up  and  strengthen  the  character  of  many  an 
ordinary  man  into  something  that  on  the  field  of  battle 
has  enabled  him  to  face  death  in  an  Indian  combat,  and 
dauntlessly  and  desperately  hold  his  own  against  fear 
ful  odds — something  at  times  so  near  akin  to  heroism 
that  his  companions  in  arms  have  failed  to  draw  the 
line,  and,  unwritten  and  unsung,  he  has  for  many  a  day 
been  the  unlaurelled  hero  of  the  barracks  of  the  en 
listed  men  of  his  regiment.  As  for  the  officer,  those 
same  two  words — service  and  duty — are  with  him  always 
and  to  the  end.  They  help  him  out  on  many  a  tire 
some  day,  and  nerve  him  to  gallant  deeds  in  many  an 
Indian  campaign:  and,  better  than  that,  they  keep  him 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  371 

straight  in  repeated  scenes  of  frontier  riot  and  dissipa 
tion. 

The  young  officer  who  goes  to  the  frontier  has 
scores  of  weary  years  to  face  and  many  a  hardship  to 
endure  before  he  can  hope  to  get  his  company  or  troop. 
It  is  weary  waiting,  but  very  excellent  military  experi 
ence,  and  always  develops  a  good  youngster  into  a 
manly,  thoughtful  man.  He  has  days  and  weeks  of 
comparative  inactivity,  and  then  again  months  of  in 
cessant  Indian  campaigning.  As  the  years  go  by  and 
he  serves  at  different  posts  of  his  regiment  he  is  de 
tailed  as  an  acting  commissary  at  one,  an  acting  quar 
termaster  at  another,  and  as  he  gains  age  and  experi 
ence  he  is  made  an  acting  post  adjutant  at  another. 
In  time  it  may  be  that  he  is  made  regimental  adju 
tant,  and  if  so  he  is  particularly  fortunate,  for  it  shows 
capacity,  and  the  experience  at  regimental  headquar 
ters  is  worth  much  to  him  in  later  years.  If  he 
marries,  and  marries  well  and  happily,  as  most  offi 
cers  do,  he  gradually  drops  out  of  bachelor  gaieties 
and  devotes  himself  to  home  life.  In  time,  as  he 
becomes  a  family  man,  he  has  to  carefully  gauge 
his  expenditures  and  begin  to  save  for  the  educa 
tion  of  his  children.  The  regimental  moves  now  be 
come  somewhat  matters  of  anxiety  to  him,  as  they  are 
expensive,  but,  like  all  the  rest,  he  usually  succeeds  in 
keeping  his  head  financially  above  water.  If  fond  of 
travel  he  manages  by  three  years'  consecutive  service 
without  leave  to  accumulate  a  four  months'  leave  on  full 
pay.  This  he  supplements  by  two  months  on  half  pay, 
and  applies  for  and  gets  a  six  months'  leave  with  per 
mission  to  go  abroad. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  has  brushed  up  his  French  and 


372  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Spanish,  and  picked  up  enough  German  to  enable  him 
self  and  wife  to  pass  six  happy  and  delightful  months 
in  Europe.  Then  they  return  and  take  up  post  life 
again,  but,  oh,  so  much  broadened  by  what  they  have 
seen!  and  just  that  much  happier,  because  the  horizon 
is  wider.  In  the  course  of  time  he  becomes  rather  more 
of  a  student,  and  recognises  the  fact  that  he  is  growing 
older  and  a  bit  more  staid.  The  children  have  to  be 
sent  back  East  to  the  grandparents  to  school,  and  an 
Indian  campaign  worries  the  dear  wife  more  than  it 
used  to  do.  In  time  he  gets  his  troop  or  company,  and 
at  last  becomes  a  captain  in  the  line. 

It  means  much,  too,  this  promotion  to  the  head  of 
a  company  or  troop.  It  means  better  quarters,  more 
pay,  larger  responsibilities.  He  can  now  work  out  some 
of  his  pet  theories  as  to  company  management,  and 
in  time  the  new  rank  may  mean  the  recruiting  detail 
of  two  years  in  civilization.  That  will  mean  all  the 
children  at  home  and  at  a  good  school,  and  all  the 
family  together  once  more.  His  days  no  longer  hang 
heavy  on  his  hands,  for  an  ambitious  captain  has  plenty 
to  do  in  keeping  everything  up  to  a  high  standard  in 
his  company.  As  time  slowly  wings  its  flight  he  takes 
his  thirty  days'  leave  each  year  to  get  back  to  his  old 
home,  especially  if  his  parents  still  live.  He  realizes, 
too,  that  he  is  almost  forgotten  by  his  old  comrades 
unless  he  does  so.  The  movements  of  his  regiment  carry 
him  North  or  South  or  out  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  he 
learns  to  know  the  whole  country  well,  and  gradually 
loses  touch  of  localities.  State  lines  soon  mean  little 
or  nothing  to  him  save  as  political  demarcations.  He 
tries  to  get  to  Washington  occasionally,  and  when  he 
does  so  sits  for  a  few  hours  in  the  galleries  of  both 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  373 

houses,  and  he  is  man  enough  of  the  world  at  the  first 
glance  over  either  house  to  see  that,  despite  all  news 
paper  squibs  and  cheap  criticism  to  the  contrary,  that 
the  average  of  intelligence  and  trained  ability  is  high 
in  both  houses,  and  far  above  the  ordinary.  Some  day 
precisely  at  noon  he  goes  to  the  Supreme  Court  room  to 
see  the  justices  enter,  and  sits  an  hour  or  two  watching 
the  proceedings,  and  then  quietly  withdraws  with  an 
intense  respect  for  what  he  regards  as  the  most  august 
body  in  the  world.  He  is  creeping  up  toward  the  head 
of  the  list  of  captains  now.  Every  retirement  and  pro 
motion  and  death  takes  him  nearer  the  head  of  the  list. 
It  looked  a  long  way  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  but  now 
he  begins  to  realize  that  one  year,  or  at  most  two  years, 
may  make  him  a  field  officer. 

At  length,  after  twenty-five  years'  service  as  a  sub 
altern  and  captain  in  the  line,  he  has  reached  his  pro 
motion,  and  receives  his  appointment  as  a  major  in  one 
of  the  regiments  of  the  army. 

The  years  pass  quickly.  He  is  a  post  commander  at 
last.  His  hair  and  mustache  are  heavily  tinged  with 
gray.  Now  and  then  he  finds  himself  at  headquarters 
in  command  of  his  regiment  in  the  absence  of  the 
colonel  and  lieutenant  colonel.  His  opinion  is  occasion 
ally  asked  by  the  War  Department,  even,  as  to  cer 
tain  changes  in  tactics,  discipline,  and  accoutrements, 
and  what  he  says  has  weight  with  the  whole  regiment. 
He  is  one  of  the  oldsters  now.  He  goes  home  from 
regimental  drill  one  day,  to  be  met  on  the  porch  of 
his  quarters  by  his  wife,  whose  cheeks  are  flushed  and 
whose  eyes  are  fairly  ablaze  with  delight.  "What  is 
it,  little  woman?"  "0  Harry  what  do  you  think 
the  colonel's  wife  heard  the  commanding  general  say 

25 


374  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

when  she  dined  at  his  house  in  Washington? "  "  I 
haven't  an  idea.  What?  "  "  He  said  you  were  one  of 
the  very  hest  duty  officers  in  the  army."  "  Possibly 
he  may  not  be  a  good  judge."  "  Harry!  How  dare 
you! "  But  he  puts  his  arm  around  her  and  kisses  her 
as  they  enter  the  house,  and  go  in  to  luncheon  with 
the  children,  two  very  happy  people.  After  luncheon 
he  comes  out  on  his  porch  for  his  noonday  smoke,  and 
as  he  lights  his  brierwood  pipe  let  us  look  at  the  man 
as  he  stands  before  us,  for  you  may  rest  assured  that, 
with  the  training  he  has  received  and  the  service  he 
has  rendered,  he  will  average  well.  He  is  generally 
from  forty-five  to  fifty-two  years  of  age.  Stalwart  of 
build,  splendidly  erect,  neat  in  person,  temperate  in 
habits,  and  low  of  voice  save  when  upon  drill.  Apt  to 
be  sparing  of  speech,  and  as  a  general  thing  not  given 
to  discussion  or  argument.  Tenacious  of  his  own  opin 
ion,  but  always  willing  to  listen  to  those  who  disagree 
with  him,  and  with  a  thorough  respect  for  all  legally 
constituted  authority,  as  well  as  a  decent  respect  for 
his  own  position  and  himself.  Considerate  of  his 
juniors,  and  unquestioningly  obedient  to  his  superiors 
in  rank.  Thoughtful  over  orders,  but  always  promptly 
obedient  to  their  tenor. 

In  times  like  these  that  are  upon  us,  mayhap  he 
might  be  a  little  anxious  as  he  sees  the  General  Gov 
ernment  debate  and  outline  a  policy  somewhat  dif 
fering  in  consonance  with  its  heretofore  trend  of  de 
velopment,  but  at  the  same  time  he  would  be  confi 
dent  in  the  ultimate  wisdom  of  Congress  and  satisfied 
to  accept  its  decision  with  unswerving  and  unquestion 
ing  loyalty,  and  ever  with  a  belief  in  the  legal  equity 
of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.      375 

States,  second  only  to  his  belief  in  the  Bible.  His  love 
for  his  country  is  almost  beyond  comprehension,  and 
his  belief  in  the  National  Government  as  the  best  that 
was  ever  devised  for  humanity  is  absolute  and  not  to 
be  debated,  while  his  devotion  to  the  flag  has  grown 
to  be  a  part  of  his  being.  He  is  generally  an 
avowed  nationalist,  with  only  a  Constitutional  tolera 
tion  of  a  State  line  and  the  very  highest  opinion  of 
the  New  England  township  organization.  When  his 
country  shall  need  him  on  the  tented  field  it  will  find 
in  him  all  that  a  soldier  should  be — brave,  courteous, 
patient,  willing,  tolerant,  uncomplaining,  splendidly 
drilled  and  disciplined,  holding  himself  up  to  the  very 
highest  ideal  of  a  soldier,  and  understanding  his  work 
in  every  detail  and  shirking  nothing;  patient  in  time 
of  trouble,  always  accepting  with  grim  resignation  that 
which  he  can  not  mend,  but  ever  fertile  in  resource, 
and  bending  every  energy,  mental  and  physical,  to  the 
parting  point  of  tension,  to  right  any  wrong  or  blunder 
that  it  is  legally  within  his  scope  to  control. 

It  is  a  clear  sunny  morning  in  April  as  an  orderly 
taps  on  the  door  of  his  quarters,  and  as  the  major,  who 
has  heard  his  footsteps,  opens  it  he  says:  "The  col 
onel's  compliments,  sir,  and  he  wishes  to  see  the  major 
at  headquarters." 

"  My  compliments  to  the  colonel,  and  I  will  be  with 
him  in  a  moment." 

He  steps  back  into  the  hall,  buckles  on  his  sword, 
places  his  cap  on  his  head,  and  crosses  the  parade  at 
a  rapid  step,  and  as  he  does  so  sees  that  from  all 
parts  of  the  garrison  officers  are  hurrying  toward  the 
adjutant's  office.  On  reaching  the  room  he  notices 
that  the  adjutant  stands  close  to  the  door  with  a  check 


376  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

list  in  his  hand,  and  the  colonel  is  standing  near  his 
desk  with  a  telegram  pasted  at  the  head  of  a  sheet 
of  foolscap,  and  from  where  he  stands  he  can  see  from 
the  serried  lines  and  squares  on  the  writing  paper  that 
it  is  evidently  a  secret  code  despatch  which  has  just 
been  deciphered.  As  the  officers  enter  they  salute  and 
remain  standing.  The  colonel  courteously  but  me 
chanically  returns  the  salute  without  looking  up  as 
he  intently  studies  the  paper.  As  the  last  officer  comes 
hurriedly  in  the  adjutant  checks  his  arrival,  steps  to 
ward  the  colonel,  salutes,  and  reports,  "  The  officers 
are  all  here,  sir."  Looking  up  from  his  despatch,  which 
is  of  unusual  length,  and  facing  his  officers,  the  colonel 
says: 

"  Gentlemen,  to-day,  at  twelve  o'clock,  the  Presi 
dent  will  recommend  and  Congress  declare  war  against 
Spain.  I  am  advised  that  I  am  to  be  appointed  a 
major  general  of  volunteers,  and  our  lieutenant  colonel 
a  brigadier.  Consequently,  the  regiment  will  take  the 
field  under  command  of  its  major."  Then,  stepping 
forward,  he  reaches  out  his  hand  heartily,  grasps  that  of 
the  major,  and  says,  "  Major,  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  regiment ";  and,  turning  to  the  assembled  line 
officers,  he  continues:  "  Gentlemen,  I  congratulate  you 
on  your  regimental  commander.  I  sincerely  hope  that 
I  may  have  the  honour  of  having  you  assigned  to  my 
division." 

When  next  we  see  him  it  is  in  the  supreme  hour  of 
battle,  as  he  placidly  accepts  his  responsibility  without 
a  tremor,  justly  confident  in  himself  and  his  knowl 
edge  of  his  profession,  and  with  the  same  unquestioning 
faith  in  the  drill  discipline  and  bravery  of  his  troops 
that  they  have  in  him  he  leads  his  regiment  gallantly 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  377 

and  confidently.  He  knows  that  they  will  not  fail  him, 
and  they  know  that  he  will  not  fail  them.  Quick  to 
see  and  prompt  to  act,  he  grasps  the  situation  boldly, 
and  presses  steadily  forward.  Personally  he  has  no 
fear.  He  has  thought  this  situation  over  and  out  years 
before,  and  that  this  might  be  his  duty  has  come  to 
him  many  a  time  and  oft  during  his  thirty  years  of 
frontier  service.  At  night  on  the  starlit  stretches  of 
the  Western  plains,  among  the  towering  crags  of  the 
Kocky  Mountains,  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty  streams 
of  the  Missouri,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Columbia; 
looking  out  across  the  sunlit  valley  from  the  vine- 
covered  porch  of  his  quarters  in  Arizona,  or  watching 
the  blue  waves  of  the  Pacific  curl  and  break  on  the 
shores  of  the  Golden  Gate  from  the  door  of  his  cottage 
at  the  presidio  on  San  Francisco  Bay — this,  the  crucial 
hour  of  his  life,  has  been  ever  before  him.  Perhaps  for 
an  instant  the  thought  of  the  dependent  wife  and  chil 
dren  whom  he  may  never  see  again  wrings  his  heart 
and  dims  his  eyes,  but  no  one  sees  him  falter.  For 
long  years  he  has  never  failed  in  his  devotion  to  duty, 
and  held  himself  strictly  amenable  to  rules  of  discipline, 
and  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  will  fail  him  now. 
He  has  the  centre,  and  steadily  the  line  presses  onward. 
His  flashing  blade  and  ringing  cry  of  "  Forward!  men, 
forward! "  accentuating  the  crack  of  rifles  and  shriek  of 
bursting  shell  as  the  line  moves  slowly,  wearily,  bloodily 
upward.  But  what  is  this?  The  line  hesitates!  It 
staggers!  It  halts!  In  front  of  the  centre  the  crest 
of  the  hill  is  crowned  with  rifle  pits,  bristling  with 
men.  Can  the  line  advance?  Can  it  carry  the  crest? 
A  quick  glance  backward,  and  he  sees  his  reserves 
within  supporting  distance.  Like  an  inspiration  comes 


378  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  thought:  If  the  line  can  reach  the  crest  the  reserve 
can  carry  it.  But  will  the  line  advance?  A  flash  of 
thought  answers,  "Yes,  if  I  lead  it!"  and  then  comes 
the  shuddering,  sickening  truth:  It  will  be  almost 
annihilation  for  the  line,  and  certain  death  to  the 
leader!  Watch  him  now.  For  one  instant  he  hesitates, 
stands  like  one  half  bewildered,  and  seems  to  quiver 
in  every  muscle  of  his  body;  then,  suddenly  pulling 
himself  together,  he  turns  and  faces  his  line.  The  eye 
of  every  soldier  on  the  line  rests  on  him,  but  he  appears 
to  be  looking  beyond  them.  What  is  it  he  seems  to 
see?  What  is  it  that  has  come  to  him?  In  memory's 
eye  he  is  again  reading  his  first  commission.  How  the 
words  stand  out  now!  "Reposing  special  trust  and 
confidence  in  your  patriotism,  valour,  fidelity,  and 
ability  I  have  nominated,  and  by  and  with  the  advice 
of  the  Senate  do  appoint  you."  Stay!  Has  he  justi 
fied  that  special  trust  and  confidence?  He  removes  his 
cap,  bends  his  head  for  an  instant  in  silent,  heart-wrung 
prayer  for  his  family  and  for  mercy  on  his  soul,  re 
places  it,  gives  one  last  sweeping  glance  around  the 
horizon,  raises  his  sword,  turns  his  face  to  the  enemy, 
and  in  a  voice  that  rings  like  a  trumpet  call  shouts: 
"Forward!  Forward  the  whole  line!  Forward,  men, 
-forward!"  And  then,  amid  a  storm  of  cheers  and  a 
hail  of  shot  and  shell,  he  leads  the  glorious  line  un 
falteringly  onward  and  upward  to  his  death. 


INDEX. 


Alden,  Captain,  of  the  Shubrick,  at 
San  Juan  Island,  71. 

Alderdice,  Mrs.,  murdered  by  In 
dians,  310. 

Alexander,  Colonel,  with  the  Utah 
expedition,  76,  77. 

Almy,  Lieutenant  Jacob,  275. 

American  Horse,  surrender  of,  339 ; 
death  of,  340. 

Apaches,  the,  246 ;  campaign  of 
General  Crooke  against,  261-285 ; 
history  of,  263-265;  character  of, 
265-269  ;  depredations  of,  272, 273 ; 
surrender  and  settlement  of,  285. 

Apache  wars,  origin  of,  266. 

Arapahoes,  150,  172,  187,  203,  205, 
207,  246,  255. 

Arizona,  discovery  of,  261-263. 

Armies,  standing,  resolutions  of  the 
Continental  Congress  concerning, 
17, 18. 

Army  life,  early,  on  the  frontier, 
38-40. 

Army,  the  regular,  an  object  of 
suspicion,  6  ;  the  Continental  dis 
banded,  16-19;  strength  of,  Oc 
tober  2,  1788,  20;  the  United 
States,  alternate  increase  and  re 
duction  of,  15,  30;  appointment 
of  officers,  35-37 ;  beginning  of, 
30 ;  the  creature  of  Congress,  363  ; 
is  loyal  and  devoted  to  the  na 


tion,  364 ;  can  not  be  forced  to  do 
an  illegal  act,  365 ;  organization  of, 
365;  the  Secretary  of  War,  365; 
the  commanding  general  (rank 
ing  as  lieutenant  general),  366 ; 
brigadier  general,  366;  qualities 
of  the  army  as  a  fighting  force, 
369,  370 ;  personality  of  its  officers 
and  men,  370. 

Artillery,  the,  365  (note). 

Ashburton,  Lord,  72. 

Augur,  General,  201. 

Baker,  Major  E.  L.,  258,  260. 

Bancroft,  Captain,  wounded,  349. 

Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe,  261,  262. 

Bankhead,  Colonel,  at  Fort  Wal 
lace,  228,  229 ;  Colonel  Forsytes 
despatch  to,  229. 

Bannister,  Mr.,  letter  of  Washing 
ton  to,  12,  13. 

Barncho,  306,  307. 

Bartlett,  Mr.,  226. 

Beaver  Creek,  203. 

Beecher,  Lieutenant  F.  H.,  206  et 
seq. ;  death  of,  226. 

Bell,  Major,  brings  ammunition,  246. 

Bennett,  John  O.,  356. 

Bent,  George,  252. 

Benteen,  Captain,  323  et  seq. 

Benteen,  Colonel,  protects  settlers 
on  the  Solomon,  207. 

379 


380 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Bernard,  Captain,  295 ;  at  the  Mo- 
doc  stronghold,  298. 

Besias,  Antonio,  276. 

Big  Hole,  battle  of,  352-358. 

Big  Jake's  band,  252. 

Big  Piney  Creek,  182. 

Bingham,  Lieutenant,  killed,  181. 

Blackfeet,  186;  raids  of,  upon  the 
upper  Gallatin  Valley,  257. 

Black  Fork,  disasters  at,  78. 

Black  Jim,  291,  303 ;  trial  and  exe 
cution  of,  306,  307. 

Black  Kettle,  245  et  seq. ;  cruelties 
of  his  band,  251-253;  death  of, 
246. 

Black's  Fork,  Camp  Scott  at,  79. 

Blewett,  citizen  scout,  346. 

Blockhouses  or  stockades,  110. 

Blodgett,  guide,  356. 

Bloods,  258. 

Bogus  Charley,  302. 

Border  wars,  early,  39. 

Boston  Charley,  303 ;  trial  and  exe 
cution  of,  306,  307. 

Boston  massacre,  the,  5. 

Bourke,  Lieutenant,  275,  280,  320, 
338. 

Bourke,  Major  John  G.,  on  the 
Apaches,  265,  266. 

Bowers,  Sergeant,  killed,  181. 

Braddock,  General,  and  Franklin,  4. 

Bradley,  Lieutenant  J.  H.,  352,  354 ; 
killed,  357. 

Brant,  Joseph  (Thayendanega),  27. 

Bridger,  Fort,  78,  104, 106 ;  burned, 
78. 

Brock,  General,  50. 

Brotherton,  Captain,  361. 

Brown,  Captain  F.  H.,  181,  182; 
death  of,  185. 

Brown,  Brevet  Major  William,  op 
erations  of,  in  the  Apache  cam 
paign,  275-285. 

Browning,  Captain,  357. 


Buffalo  Bill  (W.  F.  Cody),  331,  339. 

Buffalo,  the  destruction  of,  171. 

Bull  Bear's  band,  252. 

Burke,  Major,  338. 

Burns,  Captain  James,  276,  278,  283, 

284. 

Burton,  Captain,  346. 
Butler,  General,  mortally  wounded, 

28. 

Cadets,  31-35 ;  pay  of,  33. 

California  Joe  (scout),  241. 

California,  seizure  of,  60. 

Camp,  a  sleeping,  160. 

Campbell,  A.  (boundary  commis 
sioner),  71. 

Canby,  General  E.  R.  S.,  288 ;  pro 
poses  a  separate  reservation  for 
the  Modocs,  289,  290,  299;  joins 
his  troops  in  the  lava  beds,  299 ; 
with  the  Modoc  Peace  Commis 
sion,  300 ;  assassination  of,  303. 

Canteen,  the  post,  135,  136  ;  beer  at, 
136 ;  prosperity  of,  137  ;  merits  of, 
138. 

Capitol,  the,  at  Washington  burned, 
50. 

Captain  Jack,  291  et  seq. ;  capture 
of,  306 ;  trial  and  execution  of, 
306,  307. 

Carpenter,  Colonel  L.  H.,  230 ;  re 
lieves  Colonel  Forsyth,  232. 

Carr,  General,  surprises  Indians  at 
Summit  Springs,  309,  331. 

Carrington,  Colonel,  in  the  Sioux 
country,  175, 181. 

Carson,  Kit,  60. 

Casey,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Silas, 
relieves  Captain  Pickett  at  San 
Juan  Island,  71.  72. 

Chalmers,  George  W.,  killed,  230. 

Chambers,  Major  Alexander,  314. 

Chemakano  mission,  massacre  of, 
72. 


INDEX. 


381 


Cheyennes,  117,  156,  171,  187,  203, 
205,  207,  229,  246,  255 ;  Northern 
and  Southern,  172,  175;  North 
ern,  187. 

Cibola,  city  of,  262. 

Cimarron  Eiver,  outrages  on,  150 ; 
crossing,  attack  at,  204. 

Cities  risen  from  former  army  posts, 
40. 

Clatsop,  Fort,  42. 

Cobb,  Fort,  reservation,  255. 

Comanches,  150,  205,  207,  246; 
Quahrada,  or  Staked  Plains,  255. 

Comba,  Captain  Kichard,  354,  357, 
358. 

Comstock,  William,  206 ;  killed,  208. 

Concord,  the  uprising  at,  8. 

Confederation,  Articles  of,  20. 

Congress,  the  Continental,  reso 
lutions  of,  June  15,  1775,  8;  ap 
points  a  committee  on  a  military 
academy,  13,  14;  action  of,  re 
specting  the  army,  17-20. 

Cooke,  Lieutenant-Colonel  P.  St. 
George,  60,  61 ;  complimentary 
order  of,  at  San  Diego,  62,  63. 

Corbin,  Major-General  H.  C.,  37 
(note). 

Corbin,  scout,  241. 

Coronado,  263. 

Corporal,  the,  89,  90. 

Corral),  a,  of  iron-lined  wagons,  189. 

Cottonwood  Creek,  action  at,  348- 
351 ;  flight  of  the  Indians,  351. 

Crawford,  Governor,  reports  mas 
sacre  by  Indians,  204. 

Crawford,  Lieutenant,  336. 

Crazy  Horse,  312,  340;  disaffected 
Indians  concentrate  about  him 
and  Sitting  Bull,  312,  315;  re 
treats  after  action  with  General 
Crook's  forces,  341;  defeated  at 
Tongue  Kiver,  342 ;  surrenders, 
342. 


Crook,  General  George,  parleys  with 
the  Apaches,  270 ;  takes  command 
in  Arizona,  273;  in  the  Sioux 
campaign  of  1876,  312-342. 

Crosby,  J.  Schuyler,  209,  210,  252. 

Crow  scouts,  315,  320. 

Custer,  General  George  A.,  236  et 
seq. ;  ordered  to  lead  the  winter 
campaign  against  the  Sioux,  236, 
237;  attacks  and  burns  Black 
Kettle's  village,  242-247;  on  the 
Little  Big  Horn  Kiver,  322-327; 
death  of,  327 ;  his  course  reviewed, 
328,  329. 

Cutter,  Mr.  L.  E.,  65. 

Dallas,  Mr.,  65. 

Daly,  Sergeant,  wounded,  356. 

Darke,  Colonel,  28. 

Davis,  Bill,  murdered,  252. 

Davis,  General  Jefferson  C.,  as 
signed  to  the  Department  of  the 
Columbia,  304. 

Deserters,  129. 

Discipline,  89,  90. 

Doane,  Lieutenant,  G.  C.,  46 ;  at  the 
geysers  of  the  Yellowstone,  47. 

Dodge,  Colonel  R.  I.,  198;  on  the 
character  of  the  Indians,  199,  200. 

Dodge,  Fort,  205,  252. 

Dog  soldiers,  220,  252. 

Donovan,  230. 

Douglas,  Fort,  81. 

Douglas,  Colonial  Governor,  66,  71. 

Drills,  159. 

Drinking,  decline  of,  in  the  army, 
135. 

Dunbar,  Colonel,  retreat  of,  4. 

Dyer,  L.  S.,  peace  commissioner, 
301-303. 

Ellen's  Man,  303. 

Elliott,  Major,  239,  240,  254 ;  death 
of,  247. 


382 


THE  STORY  OF  TUB  SOLDIER. 


Ellis,  Fort,  258. 

Eltonhead,  Captain,  349. 

Emigrants,  English  and  Dutch,  2. 

English,  Lieutenant  W.  L.,  mor 
tally  wounded,  355,  358. 

Enlisted  men,  character  of,  134 ; 
pay  of,  in  1785, 17  (note). 

Escort  duty  and  routine  work,  146- 
167. 

Estevancio,  262. 

Expeditions,  unpublished  reports  of, 
46. 

Fairchilds,  J.  A.,  301. 

Felmar,  guide,  276,  278. 

Fetterman,  Brevet  -  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  W.  J.,  attacked  by  In 
dians,  180-187  ;  death  of,  185. 

Fetterman,  Fort,  General  Crook 
concentrates  cavalry  at,  313. 

Finerty,  Hon.  John  F.,  330 ;  extracts 
from  the  journal  of,  331-333. 

Fisher,  frontiersman,  182,  186. 

Fletcher,  Lieutenant,  349. 

Forsyth,  Brevet  Colonel  George  A., 
209;  his  troop  of  scouts,  210-212; 
moves  to  Beaver  Creek  and  Fort 
Wallace,  212;  follows  Indians  on 
the  Republican  River,  214-216; 
his  eight  days'  siege  and  fighting 
with  the  Indians,  216-232;  is 
wounded,  220 ;  sends  to  Fort  Wal 
lace  for  aid,  227,  228;  losses  of 
his  troop,  227 ;  report  of,  to  Colo 
nel  Bankhead,  229,  230;  is  re 
lieved  by  Colonel  Carpenter,  232. 

Fortress  Monroe,  Artillery  School 
at,  35. 

Forts,  frontier,  102-145 ;  the  line  of, 
104;  building  of,  105;  the  sol 
dier's  home,  105 ;  life  in,  106, 108  ; 
ruins  of,  106 ;  cemeteries  of,  106 ; 
friendships  and  hospitality  at,  109; 
the,  of  to-day,  109 ;  post  barracks, 


111,  114,  115;  officers'  quarters, 
111,  113;  daily  routine  at  (cav 
alry),  115-126;  reveille,  116,161; 
mess  call,  117;  stable  call,  117; 
sick  call,  118;  fatigue  call,  118; 
Sunday  morning  inspection,  119; 
guard  mounting  and  inspection, 
120;  officer's  orderly,  121;  pris 
oners  in  guardhouse,  123;  guard 
relief,  123;  guard  duty,  124;  let 
ters,  124;  password,  125;  adju 
tant's  call,  125;  post  bugler,  125; 
dress  parade,  125,  126 ;  policing, 
126;  Saturday,  126;  Sunday,  126; 
target  practice,  126;  corps  spirit, 
126,  127;  barrack  room,  127; 
breaking  monotony,  128;  desert 
ers,  129;  hunting,  129;  athletic 
games,  129. 

Franklin,  4. 

Frederics,  Sergeant,  wounded,  356. 

Fremont,  Captain,  in  California,  60. 

Gadsden  purchase,  the,  261. 

Gallatin  Valley,  massacre  in  the, 
257. 

Game,  extinction  of,  170. 

Gardens,  post  and  company,  97. 

Garrison,  officers'  life  in,  144,  145. 

General,  a,  appointed  by  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  8. 

Getty,  General,  arrests  a  Comanche 
delegation,  256. 

Gibbon,  Brigadier-General  John, 
marches  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  322 ;  his  report 
of  the  battle  of  Big  Hole,  352-358 ; 
is  wounded,  355. 

Gillem,  Colonel  A.  C.,  300,  302,  304. 

Glenn,  Mr.,  at  Santa  Fe,  149. 

Gold,  the  discovery  of,  63,  104; 
effect  of,  on  the  army,  64. 

Gordon,  General  J.  B.,  212. 

Green,  Major  John,  296,  298. 


INDEX. 


383 


Grover,  Sharpe,  206,  212,  213,  217, 

220,  221,  224,  229. 

Gruard,  Frank,  scout,  320,  331,  335. 
Grummond,  Lieutenant,  185 ;  death 

of,  18G. 

Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  treaty  of,  63. 
Guerriere,    Edmund,    affidavit    of, 

251,  252. 

Hale,  Captain,  359,  360. 

Hall,  Acting-Governor,  reports  dep 
redations  by  Indians,  204. 

Hall,  Fort,  104, 106. 

Hamilton,  Captain,  killed  at  Black 
Kettle's  village,  248. 

Hampton,  General,  command  of,  50. 

Hancock,  Major-General  W.  S., 
258;  his  report  of  the  attack  on 
the  Piegans,  259,  260. 

Hardin,  Colonel,  surprised,  22,  23. 

Hardin,  Lieutenant  E.  E.,  358. 

Harker,  Fort,  207,  210. 

Harmer,  Brigadier-General,  expe 
dition  of,  against  the  Indians,  22, 
23. 

Harney,  Brigadier-General  W.  S., 
65,  71,  76;  orders  Americans  on 
San  Juan  Island  protected,  66. 

Haughey,  Captain,  349. 

Hayes,  President,  and  the  sale  of 
liquors  in  the  army,  139. 

Hays,  Fort,  211. 

Heintzelman,  Major,  builds  Fort 
Yuma,  104. 

Henry,  Brevet  Colonel  Guy  V.,  318 ; 
is  wounded,  319. 

Henry's  Fork,  camp  at,  79. 

Hines,  Assistant-Surgeon,  183. 

Ho-eh-a-mo-a-hoe  (The-man-who- 
breaks-the-marrow-bones),  252. 

Hog  ranches,  140-142. 

Hornby,  Captain,  69,  71. 

Howard,  Brigadier-General  O.  O., 
344  et  seq. ;  takes  the  field  against 


Chief  Joseph,  345 ;  leads  the  at 
tack  at  Little  Big  Hole  Valley, 
and  is  wounded,  352,  353 ;  at  the 
surrender  of  Chief  Joseph,  362. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  the,  64,  65, 
68. 

Hull,  General,  surrender  of,  49,  50. 

Hunt,  Governor,  reports  Indian 
depredations,  204. 

Hunter,  Captain,  347. 

Indian  border  warfare,  1869-1875, 
309-311. 

Indians,  massacres  by,  and  repri 
sals,  72,  75 ;  troubles  with,  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  the  great  plains, 
and  the  Texan  border,  1848-1860, 
72-74;  wrongs  of,  74;  troubles 
with,  in  Minnesota  and  Dakota, 
1862,  168 ;  on  the  Western  fron 
tier,  1866,  1867,  168-198;  from 
1869-1876,308-311 ;  opposition  of, 
to  the  Pacific  Kailroad,  169 ;  alli 
ance  of,  against  the  whites,  171 ; 
list  of  tribes  of  the  plains  and  the 
eastern  Rocky  Mountains,  172; 
character  of,  199-201 ;  in  winter 
camp,  233-235;  wild  tribes  or 
dered  to  their  reservations,  311. 

Indian  trail,  the,  146 ;  becomes  a 
road,  147. 

Indian  war,  the,  of  1790-'91,  21. 

Infantry,  the  First  United  States, 
29. 

Jackson,  Captain,  291,  350,  351 ;  at 
tempts  to  arrest  the  Modoc  lead 
ers,  291,  292. 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  51. 

Jackson,  Lieutenant  A.  II.,  358. 

Jacobs,  Lieutenant,  356,  357. 

Jefferson,  President,  and  the  Lou 
isiana  purchase,  41. 

Jenness,  Lieutenant,  death  of,  197. 


384 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Jocelyn,  Captain,  349. 

Johnston,  Colonel  Albert  Sidney, 
takes  command  of  the  Utah  ex 
pedition,  78. 

Joseph,  Chief,  343  et  seq. ;  pursuit 
of,  345 ;  wonderful  flight  of,  358- 
361 ;  surrender  of,  361 ;  his  ad 
dress,  362. 

Kearny,  Colonel,  conquers  New 
Mexico,  58,  60 ;  marches  to  Cali 
fornia,  60. 

Kearney,  old  Fort,  104, 106, 178. 

Kennedy,  Sergeant  Major,  killed, 
247. 

"  Killed  by  Indians,"  107. 

King,  Captain  Charles,  330,  334, 
338. 

Kiowas,  172,  205,  207,  246,  254. 

Kitchen,  Peter,  and  his  ranch,  271, 
272. 

Klamath  Reservation,  the,  estab 
lished,  287. 

Klamaths,  the,  286  ;  and  Yakoskin 
Snakes  and  Modocs,  treaty  with, 
287. 

Kyle,  Corporal,  attacked  by  Indi 
ans,  309. 

La  Lande  in  Santa  F6,  148. 

Laramie,  Fort,  104,  106,  173,  202. 

Lamed,  Fort,  207. 

Lava  beds,  the,  292;  the  Modoc 
stronghold  in,  293-298. 

Leavenworth,  Fort,  104,  209.  256  ; 
post-graduate  school  at,  35,  36. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  letter  of  Wash 
ington  to,  11. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  expedition  of, 
41-43. 

Lexington,  battle  of,  7. 

Li  pans,  150. 

Liquors,  alcoholic,  sale  of,  at  army 
posts  forbidden  by  President 


Hayes,  139;  effect  of  the  prohibi 
tion,  139-143  ;  an  experiment  at 
Fort  Cummings,  141-143. 

Little  Big  Horn  River,  movements 
of  Terry,  Gibbon,  and  Custer  near 
321-328. 

Little  Powder  River,  Indian  village 
on,  burned,  313. 

Little  Robe,  255. 

Little  Rock,  246  ;  killed,  248. 

Little  Wolf,  342. 

Lodge  Trail  Ridge,  181  et  seq. 

Logan,  Captain  William,  354; 
killed,  357. 

Looking- Glass,  Chief,  killed,  361. 

Louisiana  purchase,  the,  40. 

McCall,  W.  II.  II.,  212,  213, 219,  221, 
224,  225,  231. 

McCormick,  Mr.,  Territorial  Dele 
gate,  273. 

McDougall,  Captain,  323,  324. 

Mclntosh,  scout,  276,  277,  278. 

McNees,  murder  of,  by  Indians,  150. 

March,  on  the,  158-165. 

Marching  in  the  snow,  237. 

Marshal,  Nat,  murdered,  252. 

Mason,  Major,  298. 

Meacham,  A.  B.,  urges  forcible  re 
moval  of  the  Modocs,  290  ;  peace 
commissioner,  301 ;  meets  Indians 
for  conference,  302 ;  is  wounded, 
303. 

Medicine  Arrow,  252. 

Medicine  Bluff,  256. 

Medicine  guns,  196. 

Medicine  Lodge  Creek,  treaty  of, 
206. 

Mendenhall,  Captain,  305. 

Merriam,  Brigadier- General  H.  C., 
37  (note). 

Merritt,  General,  joins  General 
Crook,  330,  331. 

Messes,  company,  98,  99. 


INDEX. 


385 


Mexican  War,  the,  48,  54-57  ;  West 
Point  men  in,  55. 

Mexico,  northern,  overland  trade 
with,  148-150. 

Miles,  Captain,  349. 

Miles,  Colonel  and  Brevet  Major- 
General  N.  A.,  messengers  of,  at 
tacked  by  Indians,  311  ;  offers 
peace  to  Sitting  Bull,  341 ;  defeats 
Sitting  Bull  and  Crazy  Horse, 
342 ;  report  of  the  pursuit  of  Chief 
Joseph,  359-361. 

Miles,  Lieutenant-General  Nelson 
A.,  37. 

Military  Academy,  contemplated  by 
the  Continental  Congress,  13, 14  ; 
recommended  by  Washington,  30; 
authorized  by  Congress,  31 ;  es 
tablished  at  West  Point,  31  ;  dis 
cipline  of,  32 ;  curriculum  of,  33. 

Military  instruction  in  colleges  and 
State  and  private  schools,  36,  37. 

Militia,  the  colonial,  7,  8. 

Miller,  Captain  M.  P.,  345,  349,  350. 

Mills,  Captain  Anson,  316-319; 
(major)  sent  to  the  Black  Hills 
for  supplies,  334  ;  attacks  a  Sioux 
village,  334;  is  joined  by  General 
Crook,  336 ;  battle  with  Indians 
in  a  cave,  337 ;  surrender  of  the 
Indians,  339,  340. 

Minute  men,  the,  7. 

Modoc  assassins,  trial  and  punish 
ment  of,  306,  307. 

Modoc  war,  the,  286-307 ;  begin 
ning  of  hostilities,  291. 

Modocs,  the,  286  ;  assigned  to  the 
Klamath  Reservation,  287 ;  driven 
away  by  the  Klamaths,  287,  288  ; 
return  to  their  old  home,  288  ; 
settlers  oppose  their  return,  289  ; 
attempts  to  negotiate  with,  299, 
300;  treachery  of,  300,  302;  bat 
tles  with,  in  their  stronghold, 


295-299,  304,  305;   surrender  of, 

306. 

Monroe,  murder  of,  by  Indians,  150. 
Mooers,  Dr.  J.  II.,  212,  220 ;  death 

of,  221. 
Mormon  battalion,  the,  march  of,  to 

California,  60-63. 
Morris,  Captain,  349. 
Morrison,  James,    sends    goods  to 

Santa  F6",  148. 

Mountain  Meadow  massacre,  81. 
Mule  trains,  escort  of,  153-155. 
Munson,  Major,  338. 

Nantjee,  Apache  scout,  276. 
Navajo,  263. 

New  Mexico,  conquest  of,  58-60. 
New  Orleans,  campaign  and  battle 

of,  51-54. 
New  York   State,  British  invasion 

of,  51. 
Nez  Perce"  campaign,  the,  286,  343- 

362. 

Niza,  Fray  Marcos  de,  262. 
North  Platte,  202. 
Noyes,  Major  H.  E.,  314  et  seq. 

Odeneal,  Superintendent  F.  B., 
letter  of,  to  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Frank  Wheaton,  290 ;  directs  pres 
sure  used  upon  the  Modocs,  291. 

Officer,  army,  the,  mode  of  appoint 
ment  of,  35-37  ;  expenses  of,  143 ; 
habits  of,  144 ;  not  a  politician, 
364  ;  life  and  schooling  of,  371  et 
seq. ;  personality  of,  374, 375  ;  pro 
motion  of,  375,  376 ;  in  battle, 
376,  377  ;  self-devotion  of,  378. 

Oldham,  Colonel,  26. 

Ollicut  (brother  of  Chief  Joseph) 
killed,  361. 

Onorato,  Friar,  262. 

Oration,  memorial,  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren,  5. 


3SG 


THE  STORY   OF  THE  SOLDIER, 


Oregon,  British  claim  to,  64. 
Osage  scouts,  241. 
Otis,  Lieutoiiant,  350. 
Otis,  Major-Generul,  E.  S.,  37. 
Ox  trains,  escort  of,  151,  152. 

Parr,  Mr.,  206. 

Pawnee  Fork,  203;  massacre  at, 
204. 

Peno  Creek,  181. 

Perry,  Captain,  295 ;  sent  against 
Chief  Joseph,  344;  attacked  by 
White  Bird,  345. 

Phil  Kearny,  Fort,  174  et  seq. ;  build 
ing  of,  177;  siege  of,  180-187; 
tight  at,  188-197 ;  abandoned, 
203,  235. 

Pickett,  Captain  George  E.,  at  San 
Juan  Island,  66-71. 

Picgans,  the,  expedition  against, 
258 ;  surprise  and  punishment  of, 
259  ;  the  act  defended  by  General 
Hancock,  259,  260. 

Pike,  Zebulon  M.,  the  two  expedi 
tions  of,  43-48 ;  extracts  from  the 
journal  of,  44,  45. 

Pilot  Hill,  179. 

Pi  mas,  the,  264,  276,  277. 

Pioneers,  the  earliest,  of  North 
America,  2. 

Pliley,  230. 

Pollock,  Captain,  349. 

Powder  River  road,  the  building  of, 
opposed  by  the  Sioux,  202 ; 
abandonment  of,  recommended, 
203,  235. 

Powell,  Major  James,  187;  at  Fort 
Phil  Kearny,  188-197. 

Powell,  Major  J.  H.,  338. 

President  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress,  letter  of  Washington  to,  11. 

Price,  Major,  311. 

Purslcy,  James,  settles  in  Santa  F6, 
148. 


Queenstown,  battle  of,  50. 

Railroads,  opposition  of  the  Indians 

to,  170,  173 ;  the  Pacific',  and  the 

Indian  mode  of  life,  170. 
Railway    constructors,    guards    to, 

155. 
Rains,  Lieutenant,  ambuscaded  and 

killed,  346. 

Randall,  Major,  320,  331. 
Rawn,  Captain  C.  C.,  354. 
Recruit,  the,  84-88. 
Red  Cloud,  alliance  of  Sioux  tribes 

under,  172,  181,  193  et  seq. 
Red  Nose,  252. 
Regulars,  British,  and  the  colonists, 

3,  4  ;  home  ties  of,  weak,  56. 
Reno,  Fort,  and  its   abandonment, 

174,  178,  201,  203,  235. 
Reno,  Major,  on  the  Little  Big  Horn, 

323  et  seq. 

Reynolds,  Colonel  J.  J.,  313. 
Riddle,  Frank,  300  et  seq. 
Rifle  practice,  85,  86,  135. 
Robinson,  Lewis,  77. 
Rodney,  Captain,  350,  351. 
Rogue  River  Valley,  Indian  uprising 

in,  73. 
Roman  Nose,  220  et  seq. ;  death  of, 

225. 

Roseborough,  Judge,  301. 
Rosebud,  the,  battle  of,  315-321. 
Ross,  General,  capture  of  Washing 
ton  by,  50,  51. 
Ross,    Lieutenant    J.  M.,  275,  279, 

280. 
Royall,  Colonel  W.  B.,  314,  319,  331. 

St.  Clair,  Major-General  Arthur, 
campaign  of,  against  the  Indians, 
23-29. 

Sales,  Corporal,  killed,  356. 

Saline,  the,  massacre  at,  237,  251, 
252. 


INDEX. 


387 


Salt  River  Canon,  the,  Apache 
stronghold  in,  276-279;  capture 
of,  279-284. 

San  Juan  Island,  dispute  over,  65- 
72. 

Sunno,  Captain  M.  J.,  354,  357. 

Santa  Fe  trail,  the,  trouble  with 
Indians  on,  149,  150. 

Santa  Fe"  Railway,  the,  151. 

Scar-faced  Charley,  291. 

Schermerhorn,  Mr.,  207. 

Schloluck,  307. 

Schonchin,  303;  trial  and  execu 
tion  of,  306,  307. 

Schwatka,  Lieutenant,  335. 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  55. 

Search,  right  of,  48. 

Sedgewick,  Fort,  310. 

Shacknasty  Jim,  303. 

Shaw,  Fort,  258. 

Sheridan,  General  P.  H.,  202,  205, 
235;  report  of,  on  Indian  relations, 
205-209 ;  takes  the  Held  against 
the  Sioux  in  person,  209. 

Sherman,  Lieutenant-General  W. 
T., report  of,  on  the  military  divi 
sion  of  the  Missouri,  1858,  201- 
205;  356. 

Shubrick,  the,  71. 

Simpson's  Hollow,  supply  trains 
burned  at,  77. 

Sioux,  44,  117,  168,  179,  181  ;  bands 
of,  at  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  186  ;  the 
campaign  of  1868  and  1869,  199- 
260 ;  the  campaign  of  1876,  308- 
329 ;  General  George  Crook  in, 
312,  321 ;  Minneconjous,  186 ; 
Upper  Brule,  186  ;  Sans  Arcs, 
186  ;  Ogallalla,  220,  312. 

Sitting  Bull,  173,  312,  315 ;  refuses 
terms  of  peace,  341 ;  escapes  into 
British  territory,  342 ;  returns  and 
surrenders,  343. 

Slim  Buttes,  fight  at,  330. 


Smith,  Captain,  relieves  Major  Pow 
ell  at  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  197. 

Smith,  Fort  C.  F.,  abandoned,  201, 
203,  235. 

Smith,  General  P.  F.,  76. 

Smith,  Major,  197. 

Smoky  Hill  River,  skirmish  near, 
156,  157. 

Snake  scouts,  315,  320. 

Snyder,  Captain,  360. 

Soldier,  qualities  of  a  good,  90. 

Soldier,  the  American,  individuality 
and  self-reliance  of,  82  ;  character 
of,  83,  84;  thirty  years  ago  and 
to-day,  91,  92 ;  qualifications  of, 
93,  94  ;  pay  of,  94 ;  on  the  retired 
list,  94;  clothing  allowance  and 
rations  of,  94-96  ;  savings  and  de 
posit  accounts  of,  100;  advan 
tages  of  the  life  of,  101. 

Solomon,  the,  attack  on  the  settle 
ments  on,  207,  251,  252. 

Stages,  the,  passing  of,  155. 

Stanton,  Colonel,  331. 

States,  jealousies  of,  19,  20. 

Steele,  J  udge,  seeks  to  confer  with 
the  Modocs,  300. 

Stillwell,  Jack,  227. 

Stockton,  Commodore,  and  Captain 
Fre'mont,  revolutionize  and  seize 
California,  60. 

Sturgis,  General,  361. 

Sullivant's  Hill,  action  near,  181- 
187. 

Sumner,  Major,  60. 

Supply,  Camp,  236. 

Swearing,  decline  of,  135. 

Sweetwater,  the,  disasters  at,  77,  78. 

Tall  Bull,  255. 
Taylor,  Captain  A.  B.,  275. 
Taylor,  General  Zachary,  55,  58. 
Ten  Eyck,  Captain,  183-185. 
Tents,  166. 


388 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Terry,  General  A.  II.,  201,  312;  in 
the  Little  Big  Horn  campaign, 
321,  322,  327. 

Theller,  Lieutenant,  killed,  345. 

Thomas,  Lieutenant  Earl  D.,  276. 

Thomas,  Rev.  Dr.,  peace  commis 
sioner,  assassinated  by  the  Mo- 
docs,  303. 

Tobe,  301,  303,  306. 

Tongue  River,  tight  on,  342. 

Touto  Basin,  operations  in,  275. 

Too-hul-hul-sote  (White  Bird),  245, 
344 ;  killed,  361. 

Townsend,  Major-General  E.|D.,  205. 

Trade  caravans,  escort  of,  150. 

Treaty,  a  mistaken,  174. 

Trimble,  Captain,  347. 

Trudeau,  227. 

Turkey  Leg  camp,  208. 

Tyler,  Captain,  360. 

Ugarte,  General,  263. 

Utah  expedition,  the,  of  1857, 75-81. 

Van  Orsdale,  Lieutenant  J.  T.,358. 

Veteran,  the,  130-132. 

Volunteers,  8 ;  behaviour  of,  55 ;  and 

their  home  ties,  56  ;  and  regulars 

as  letter  writers,  56,  57. 
Von  Leutwitz,  Lieutenant,  336. 
Vroom,  Captain,  319. 

Wade,  Brigadier-General  James  F., 
37  (note). 

Waggoner  massacre,  the,  73. 

Walnut  Creek,  massacre  at,  251. 

Wands,  Lieutenant,  181. 

War  Department,  the,  administra 
tive  bureaus  of,  365,  366  ;  adjutant 
general's,  366 ;  inspector-gen 
eral's,  366  ;  judge-advocate  gen 
eral's,  366 ;  quartermaster's,  366  ; 
subsistence,  367 ;  pay,  367  ;  med 
ical,  367 ;  engineers',  367 ;  ord 


nance,  367,  368 ;  the  department 
in  the  Spanish  war,  368,  369. 

Ward,  Major-Gencral  Artemas,  8. 

War  of  1812,  the,  48-51. 

War,  the  Secretary  of,  365. 

Wars,  European  and  Asiatic,  1607- 
1765,  3. 

Washakie,  Shoshone  chief,  331. 

Washburne,  General  II.  D.,  47. 

Washington,  George,  elected  gen 
eral,  9 ;  character  and  qualifica 
tions  of,  9, 10,  14 ;  extracts  from 
letters  of,  10-13. 

Weichell,  Mrs.,  wounded  by  Sioux, 
310. 

Weir,  Captain,  325. 

Wells,  Lieutenant- General  D.  H. 
(Mormon),  77. 

Wheatly,  182,  186. 

Wheaton,  Lieutenant  -  Colonel 
Frank,  operations  of,  in  the  Mo- 
doc  campaign,  290-298. 

Whipple,  Captain,  346,  349. 

White,  Jim,  scout,  killed,  339. 

Wilkinson,  General,  expedition  of, 
against  Montreal,  50. 

Wilkinson,  Lieutenant,  349. 

William,  coloured  servant,  356. 

Williams,  Captain  Constant,  357. 

Williams,  Lieutenant,  349,  354. 

Wilson,  William,  killed,  230. 

Winder,  General,  50. 

Winter  campaign,  the,  against  the 
Sioux,  of  1868  and  1869,  233-253 ; 
is  denounced,  249 ;  General  Sher 
idan's  report  of,  249-251 ;  the  pur 
pose  of,  250,  251  ;  its  success,  256 ; 
a  second  campaign,  253-260;  re 
sults,  308. 

Winters,  Captain,  349,  351. 

Women  at  army  posts,  112, 113, 132, 
133,  159. 

Woodbridge,  Lieutenant  Francis, 
358. 


INDEX. 


389 


Woodford,  Colonel  William,  letter 
of  Washington  to,  10. 

Woodruff,  Lieutenant  C.  A.,  wound 
ed,  355,  358. 

Wright,  Captain  Ben,  72,  73. 


Yakoskin  Snakes,  287. 
Young,  Brigham,  forbids  advance 
of  troops,  77  ;  yields,  80. 

Zuni  towns,  263. 


THE   EKD. 


RETURN 

This  hoc 
Rene\v 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

14  DAY  USE  S 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED  N 

LOAN  DEPT.  -H 

RENEWALS  ONLY — TEL.  NO.  642-3405 
This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or      __ 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


&UG1 


.uu*  9Ad  of  WINTER 

Subject  to  recall  a 

rJAM287J     «,«- 

pb 

i»* 

*Mft  2  .1 

;o? 

f  § 

. 

.. 

PI- 

IMJERLJBfiAfiy  LOAl 

j 

y  AY  o  ^  '~>r.»~ 

IYI  ft  j     /    <    i*-JH  "^ 

1  1  nl  i  W    C\  f  r*  A  !  f  r~     n  P  r\ 

6 

Uf^iv.  ur  CALIF.,  BER 

k 

-P 

LD21A-60m-3,'70 
(N5382slO)476-A-32 


(H 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 

'm-8,'34 

I 


LIBRARY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  BEFORE  CLOSING  TIME 
ON  LAST  DATE  STAMPED  BELOW 


LIBRARY  USE 


^CTD  LD 


APR    1 '65-213 


£'  li.S    AU 


/ 


General  Library 


